In the Spider's Web
by Mikauzoran
Summary: Hakuba wakes, chained up in a jail cell with Kaito and a pregnant Ran. The Organization has taken them prisoner, intending to use them as hostages as the final battle erupts. Can the trio escape unharmed, and what will be the outcome of the raging war?
1. Caught

Mikau: Hi all! Please don't hate me for doing something new. I'm feeling a lot better, but life at the firm is super hectic, so I'm just not finding the time to devote to writing like I used to. I'm trying to stay active, though, especially through the Poirot Café forum. This was actually done for Poirot Café's Prompt Exchange Four. My prompter was Taliya, and the prompt was "The devil did I do to end up in a jail cell with _you_ of all people?!" I believe this was supposed to inspire a humorous fic, but…mine turned out "captured by the Org during the final battle". ^.^; I hope you enjoy it.

Disclaimer: If I owned it, I'd turn the canon pairings on their heads.

…

Chapter One: Caught

"Are you finally coming to, Sleeping Beauty?"

Hakuba Saguru was faintly aware of a presence off to his left—a half-familiar voice.

The part of his consciousness that was able to recall at the moment told him that he was in for a far worse migraine than he was already experiencing, but still he couldn't fully recollect the person to whom that voice belonged through his current haze.

He tried to turn, to roll over onto his side, to catch a glimpse of his interlocutor, but he was restrained, immeasurably sore, and unable to see straight anyway.

"Good. I was beginning to worry about you," the voice chuckled in a half-teasing, friendly tone, but it was obvious even to Saguru that his companion—' _Male'_ , Saguru thought as the ringing in his ears diminished and his vision began to clear—was forcing himself to sound optimistic and light-hearted. There was no real mirth underneath it all.

Saguru slowly, gingerly propped himself up, careful of his manacles and chains. He blinked and rubbed at his eyes, trying to make out the face of the other man. He could vaguely see an outline, but it was difficult to discern the features.

When he did finally determine the identity of his conversational partner, he cursed inwardly. The spirit of his unspoken profanity carried over into the way he groaned, "Kuroba."

The other boy—pale and outfitted with fetters much like Hakuba's own—gave a little snort as he pouted, "It's been three years since high school graduation when you last saw me, and _that's_ how you greet me?!" Ever the drama queen, Kaito vastly overplayed the extent of his injury. "We were **best** _friends_ back in the day. Does all of that mean _nothing_ to you now?"

Yes. Saguru's subconscious had been right about the owner of that half-remembered voice bringing on the mother of all migraines.

Saguru sighed, trying to have patience. If he exploded, it would only feed the born performer's flame. "Kuroba, you have monopolized my social engagements calendar for these past three years with your semimonthly jewel heists. I see you every other weekend." A touch of exasperation might have slipped into Saguru's voice at the end.

Kaito rolled his eyes. "Are you still on about that whole Kaitou Kid thing?"

"I am not going to dignify that with a response," Saguru grumbled, taking in his surroundings.

Things were pretty Spartan—concrete, chains, and thick steel bars. It was dark and damp, more like a dungeon than any Japanese prison Saguru had ever seen the inside of, but…

"The devil did I do to end up in a jail cell with _you_ of all people?!" Saguru sputtered, searching desperately for an officer to whom he could protest that there had been a mistake.

Kaito glared and snapped sardonically. "Lady Luck decided to give you a break for once?"

Saguru paused in the frantic craning of his neck to shoot a deadpan expression at his cellmate. "I _meant_ , why am I, of all people, in jail in the first place, and, secondly, why, Sweet Mother Mary, am I stuck with _you_."

Kaito shrugged, quickly losing his fire as his gaze meandered off sullenly to the left. "Maybe the fashion police finally caught up with you for your hideously obnoxious tweed-wearing days," he muttered without heat.

Saguru turned his head to quip back concerning ridiculous cat burglars traipsing about Tokyo in formal eveningwear when he finally noticed how unwell his rival looked.

Kuroba's face was ashen, with a pallor beyond what the dim lighting could affect, and there was a haunted look in the magician's eyes, speaking of a fear and anxiety far greater than what the law and justice done could provoke.

Beginning to feel that something was decidedly not right in a far more sinister way than he had originally suspected, Saguru lowered his voice and timidly urged, "Kuroba? Where are we, and why are we here? What's going on?"

Kaito shook his head, letting the shreds of poker face fall in his exhaustion. Grimly he mumbled, "Me? I'm here because I wasn't strong enough to protect her or myself. I was an idiot."

Kuroba's words didn't make sense to Saguru, but he refrained from prodding again, sensing that it would do no good.

After a minute or two of unsettling silence, Kaito looked up and faced Saguru and began to speak again. "Hakuba, we're in some serious fecal matter here. Stay calm, but know that we are royally screwed. The people that have us blow up buildings and kill without remorse. If we stop being of value to them, they'll snuff us out with as much thought as you'd give to slapping a mosquito." Kaito let his words sink in a little before he reiterated, "We're in serious trouble here."

Saguru took a deep breath and tried to keep calm and focused. He'd had a lot of practice with being kidnapped both professionally in his detective work and privately as the son of an English fashion magnate and a Japanese police superintendent, but the way Kuroba spoke about the people responsible this time…

"Okay then," Saguru let out in one long, slow blow. "What do we do?"

Kaito frowned as he considered Hakuba. "…You're not going to take a moment to freak out that you've been kidnapped by a super, massive, evil crime syndicate?"

Saguru shrugged. "I've been in comparable situations before. Not quite of the magnitude which you describe, but… Though, I do have two questions. Why do they want me _this_ time?"

Kaito shook his head, genuinely surprised at Saguru's composure. "They want an ace in their back pocket in case they need to persuade your father. They've just suffered a really hard blow, so they're pretty much like a wounded tiger right now. They're desperate, dangerous, and taking swipes at anyone and everyone who gets too close. I'm pretty sure that's all there is to it. To my knowledge, there was no nefarious plot against your dad before all this started going down this past month."

Kaito paused as Saguru gazed at him intently, eyebrows knitted as Saguru tried to piece the puzzle together.

"What? Problem?" Kaito pursed his lips.

Saguru shook his head but continued to study his companion. "No. It's just that my other question was why in the world this syndicate took _you_ , but…you seem rather knowledgeable about the situation. Did you know too much? Is that why you're here?" Saguru shook his head once more, refuting his own theory before Kaito even had the chance. "No. That wouldn't make sense. They would just kill you if you knew too much, if they're as ruthless as you say. They'd only keep you alive like this if you were useful, so…" He trailed off, going back to contemplating his rival.

Kaito shifted uncomfortably, looking down and back to his left sorrowfully once more. "They didn't mean to take me. I got in their way, and I guess they decided I was a bonus hostage, more valuable alive than dead. I don't really get their logic; I would have just killed me, if I were them. Maybe they didn't want to risk making any more of a scene, or maybe they didn't think they could get the body cleaned up fast enough in a public space like that, but…" Kaito looked back up at Saguru with tired, misty eyes full of terror. "The only thing I can think of is that, like her, I'm important to someone who knows even more than I do, and they have nasty, wicked plans in store for me."

"You keep referring to a woman, Kuroba. Whom do you mean?" Saguru broke in, finally asking for clarification when it became obvious that this was an important piece of information that the thief would not be forthcoming with.

Kaito blinked, clearly taken aback. He nodded off to his left in the shadows. "Her. Ran. I got in the way when they tried to take her."

Saguru strained his eyes, peering through the dark at the vague outline some ways off that he'd taken to be bedding of some kind earlier when he'd done his initial scan. Now that he really looked, however, he could faintly make out that it really was the form of a young woman, seemingly unconscious.

She was unnervingly immobile, and it was difficult to say whether or not she was still breathing.

…

Mikau: To Be Continued. What do you think so far? I do so hope you like it. I'm pretty happy with it myself. ^.^; Well, let me know. I have the rough drafts of the next two chapters on paper in my notebook. I definitely want to edit the hell out of the third chapter, but I should have chapter two ready for you next week. Take care, guys!


	2. Hope

Mikau: Hello again, guys! Chapter two is here, and I just want to thank all of my reviewers from last chapter. A big thanks to: impossibleorimprobable, Opal Spirit, bring the popcrn, Guest, Lady Lily Anne, Taliya, and Guest (How they were kidnapped is briefly mentioned later, but the draft of this chapter was already handwritten when I posted the first chapter. ^.^;)! I was so pleased that people were interested in this.

Disclaimer: If I owned it, I'd have quite a hard time creating an epic ending to live up to the twenty-plus years of hype. ^.^; Good luck, Sensei.

…

Chapter Two: Hope

"Is that Mouri Ran-san?" Saguru choked as he gazed in horror at the young woman's unnervingly still form, lying prone on the other side of the cell.

Kaito nodded gravely, muttering, "Shinichi's going to kill me," so softly that Hakuba almost didn't hear.

"How long has she been unconscious?" Saguru cautiously inquired, wondering if he should just drop the touchy subject entirely. It only seemed to make Kuroba increasingly anxious the more he thought about it.

Kaito shrugged and shook his head. "Somewhere between three and I-don't-know-how-many hours. I mean, I've been up for about three…give or take…and I don't know how long I was out before then, so…" Kaito sighed, growing more and more despondent by the minute as he gazed miserably at the motionless Ran and prayed desperately for her safety.

"When were you taken?" Saguru pressed, trying to sort things out. "Do you have any idea what day and time?"

Kaito shook his head again, unsure. "I think it was about three o'clock on Thursday. Why?"

"Because it was around four-thirty on Thursday last I remember," Saguru explained. "I was brought here after you, wasn't I?"

Kaito nodded, not entirely following.

"Were you awake when they put me in here? I'd fathered that you were, judging by the way that you spoke before."

"Yeah. So?" Kaito waited for Hakuba to come to his point. Kaito really wasn't feeling up to this roundabout at the moment. "They brought you in about an hour or so after I woke up, but what difference does it make?"

"Not too much time can have passed if they were only bringing me in an hour or two ago," Saguru informed, hoping to lighten his rival's abysmal mood.

"Unless you were unconscious elsewhere for God knows how long," Kaito countered darkly.

Saguru pursed his lips, biting the bottom one as he considered this. "…Point," he finally conceded. "So much for optimism."

At least he had tried, he thought.

Kaito gave a leaden sigh, drawing his knees up to his chest as he mentally berated himself for things no one but Kaito himself would blame him for.

And the imprisoned duo fell into a disheartening silence.

Saguru took the opportunity to discretely stretch and rub his sore muscles, striving to be as quiet as possible so as not to intrude upon Kaito's brooding.

Twenty minutes, or thereabouts, passed uncomfortably as Kaito remained lost in his own unforgiving thoughts and Saguru studied their cage, trying to concoct some plan of egress. Sadly, escaping was more Kuroba's thing than his own.

Finally it got to the point where Saguru felt that he had to speak or risk falling into a familiar spiral of doubt and defeatism.

"Kuroba, we have to get out of here." He addressed his cellmate with a firm determination that he didn't truly feel in hopes that it would snap the thief out of his torpor and get his rival scheming a Kid-worthy escape plot.

"Help me make a plan," Saguru urged. "Tell me what to do. This is _your_ area of expertise."

Kaito sluggishly raised his head to gaze brokenly at Hakuba. All of his fire and spirit was gone. "What do you want me to do?" he murmured. "There's nothing I can do. We're chained up, behind bars, in the enemy stronghold, with hundreds of trained killers on the prowl. Even if I could get out of this cell, get out of these manacles—which I can't; believe me, I've tried—I wouldn't be able to get us out of enemy territory alive. I _can't_."

It made Saguru's heart ache to see the rival he respected more than anything in such a sorry state.

"Kuroba," he pleaded gently. "I've seen you break into heavily guarded vaults tricked out with more trip wires and lethal anti-theft mechanisms than I can count on all of my digits combined. And you _always_ get away without a hitch. You could break out of Alcatraz, if you put your mind to it. I firmly believe that. And I need _you_ to believe it too, Kuroba," he sincerely entreated, praying that his words would get through to his rival and friend.

But Kaito sadly shook his head and whispered, "Hakuba, I _can't_."

Just then, a soft groan was heard off to their far left.

Kaito snapped to attention and dashed over to Ran's side, slipping out of his chains effortlessly and without thinking in his anxiety over his…what exactly _was_ Mouri Ran to Kuroba Kaito?

Saguru watched quietly in relief as Kaito lovingly brushed the bangs out of the young woman's face and softly called her name. "Ran? Ran, can you hear me? Ran?"

Ran blinked groggily as she came around.

"Shinichi?" she whispered, rubbing at her eyes. "Oh, Kaito!" She gave a start, recognizing the man before her. She smiled and warily, wearily pushed herself up. "Kaito," she breathed, exuding tender affection as she reached out and caressed his face, bringing her forehead to rest against his.

"Ran," Kaito gasped, voice cracking as the tears finally came. He nuzzled her, running his hands through her hair as she wiped away his tears.

Meanwhile, Saguru tried not to gawk. He felt like a voyeur, but he couldn't help but watch the emotional scene unfolding in front of him.

Saguru had never known love. He'd been emotionally neglected by his parents as a result of being an unwanted lovechild, and then he was shunned and bullied by his peers for being different, so he had always distanced himself from others in order to protect himself. He acted aloof and never got too close so as not to risk being hurt, betrayed, rejected, or disappointed. He'd never known love, so this passionate display was utterly foreign to him…while at the same time it held all of the draw of a bug zapper to a moth.

He couldn't tear his eyes away as the lovers(?) caressed and cried and held one another.

"Ran, I'm so, so sorry," Kaito choked on his tears.

Ran shook her head and stroked his face. "Kaito, for what? What do you have to be sorry about?"

"Because I couldn't protect you," he replied as if the answer had been as obvious as two plus two. And then he muttered, "Shinichi is going to kill me."

Ran gave a snort, rolled her eyes, shook her head, and kissed the magician's forehead. "Oh, Kaito. My sweet Kaito, no. It's not _your_ fault at all. That Vodka guy had a gun. What were you supposed to do against him?"

"But Shinichi—" Kaito began to protest, only to be cut off.

"—And who's to say _you_ were supposed to be protecting _me_ , anyway?" she griped, resenting the "defenseless damsel" treatment. "Which one of us has the black belt? Me. So obviously _I_ was the one who was supposed to be protecting _you_ ," she lectured. "Therefore, when we get out of here, Shinichi's going to have to kill _me_ for not protecting his precious Kai-chan."

Kaito could only laugh incredulously at his, but a faint smile was beginning to form on his lips. "Highly unlikely seeing as he loves you, but thanks anyway, Ran."

"Kaito," Ran sighed, a troubled frown settling onto her features.

"Anyway, are you okay?" Kaito changed subjects before she could say any more.

"A little sore." She shrugged half-heartedly, still trying to come up with a way to clear up Kaito's doubts about Shinichi's feelings for him. "My head is still throbbing where Vodka hit me, but…I think I'll recover, no lasting damage. What about you? Did he hurt you?"

Kaito shrugged like it wasn't important. "My wounds are purely mental." He bit his lip and paused like there was something more he wanted to say only he was afraid to ask. He took a deep inhale and ventured, "And…the baby?" He held his breath.

Saguru's jaw dropped, and his cheeks exploded into a brilliant vermillion to shame any field of poppies. He tried not to squirm as thoughts of Kuroba siring children came unbidden in graphic depictions.

Ran's forehead creased, and she shook her head. "I don't know. I'm not far enough along to be able to tell, but…" Her hand subconsciously went to her stomach, rubbing it reassuringly. "It doesn't hurt. I don't feel any different than normal, and I'm not bleeding or anything, so…" she trailed off, trying to remain optimistic for both of their sakes. "Let's just not worry about it until after _we're_ out of here and safe, okay?"

Kaito sighed heavily, dropping down to nuzzle Ran's stomach. He kissed it and whispered, "Please be okay. _**Please**_."

"It'll be all right," Ran tried to comfort him, but it was difficult when their present situation looked so bleak. "Everything's going to be okay, Kaito. Don't worry." She ran a hand through his hair, gently rubbing his scalp as she often did at night when they were all three drifting off to sleep.

"How can I help but worry when Shinichi's going to kill me for not protecting the woman he loves and their unborn child?" Kaito wailed, grief-stricken.

Ran took him by the cheeks and made him look her in the eye. "Kaito, I know you don't believe it, and it's hard for you to understand, but Shinichi loves you every bit as much as he loves me. You're not some concubine that I let him keep around, and you're not second place in his heart. The three of us are a family, and we're going to get through this together, okay?"

Kaito smiled softly even as tears trickled down his cheeks. "Thank you for saying that, Ran. I…It's true that I can't believe it yet, but…you two really do make me feel like part of your family, and…someday I hope I actually am able to believe that I'm not just the second wife."

"Oh, Kaito," Ran sighed, pulling him close.

"But this _is_ my fault," Kaito whimpered into Ran's neck. "At least _I_ blame myself—"

"—You'd be the only one," she insisted.

"And if anything were to happen to your and Shinichi's baby—"

"—Have you ever stopped to consider that maybe it's _your_ child?" Ran challenged, pulling back to look Kaito in the eye. "Would that change anything, Kaito?"

Kaito paused, squirmed, and looked away, blushing. "That's not very likely."

"But it _is_ possible." Ran refused to back down. "So you need to put aside your inferiority complex and your feelings of unworthiness and your self-doubt for the next few hours and put all of that nervous energy into getting us out of this mess, okay? Besides, even if we lose this child—as horrible as that would be—as long as the three of us are alive, we can always have another, so let's just focus on the future, okay?" Ran entreated, even though she too was scared and panicking on the inside over the unknown fate of her baby. "Can you do that for me, Kaito?"

Her words finally broke through to him, and he nodded, smiling brightly as he leaned in and gave her cheek a quick peck. "Ran my angel, I could steal Buckingham Palace, the Eiffel Tower, and the pyramids at Giza for you."

"Excellent," Saguru broke in, finally finding an opportunity to interrupt without feeling _too_ terribly awkward. "Could we perhaps start by releasing me from my bonds? I can't help but notice I'm the only one still left in chains."

…

Mikau: I'm pleased with this, even though it's short. I really hope I can keep at it and actually finish something. Life has been so turbulent lately that I feel I'm not accomplishing as much as I'd like. But I hope you enjoyed this chapter. I've got a rough skeleton of the third one that I hope to polish up in the next week or two. Take care until then!


	3. Family

Mikau: Ugh. This took a lot longer than I had anticipated. -.-; The past week I've been on loan to the managing partner for a special case, so I was getting up at five in the morning and not getting home until seven at night and working through my lunches, so…free time was nonexistent. But I have the next chapter, and I hope to be more consistent sometime in the near future. :/ Anyway, thank you for your patience, and thank you so much to all of the reviewers from last time: Lady Lily Anne, impossibleorimprobable, Eve Of The Stars, Poor sagu-chan, Opal Spirit, Julep7 (times two), icequeen75947, Fansquealing, AngelsBeast, Elise Woodlands (Thank you! I'm so glad you're enjoying it and looking forward to more!), and Guest (Wow. Thank you so much! I'm ecstatic that you like my Ran—hopefully you'll keep liking my Ran ^.^;—and that you think my threesomes work. That's a huge relief!)!

Disclaimer: If I owned it, the relationships would be more (less?) realistic.

…

Chapter Three: "Family"

Ran gave a start at the unexpected voice, but Kaito grinned sheepishly and chuckled, "Sorry about that, Hakuba. Got a little caught up in my own head for a while there."

"It's quite all right. I understand completely," Saguru assured. "The important thing is that you've righted yourself now."

"Is that Hakuba Saguru?" Ran called, trying to get to her feet. She faltered, still unsteady from the hours spent unconscious.

Kaito caught her and helped her find her balance. "Careful, Ran," he cooed.

"Thanks," she laughed with a bashful smile. "Hello there, Hakuba-kun. Kaito talks about you all the time, so I feel like we see a lot of each other, but in actuality it's been a long time since we've met in person, hasn't it?"

"A few years, yes," Saguru greeted her cordially, giving as much of a bow as he could manage in his current predicament. "You seem well, though, Ran-san. It's good to see you again, even if the circumstances are far less than ideal."

"You as well," she reciprocated as Kaito helped her over to Hakuba's side of the cell.

"Ran, can you use your bra wire to pick the locks on his cuffs?" Kaito asked as Ran lowered herself down to sit next to Saguru. "I'm going to investigate the perimeter and see if I can't get us out of here."

"On it," Ran confirmed, fishing around for a moment before pulling out a wire that seemed to have been cut free and prepared in advance.

Saguru flushed, averting his eyes until she had resituated herself.

"This might take a few minutes," Ran informed with a sheepish smile. "I'm not as good as Kaito."

"That you can pick a lock at all is impressive to me," Saguru assured. "Though, I suppose one must acquire many out of the way skills as the lover of a world-class thief," he mused.

Ran laughed, amused at the thought, and shook her head. "Odd abilities come in handy when you're involved with as many detectives and cops as I am. You're often faced with 'out of the way' situations. For instance, it might interest you to know that I'm on a first name basis with every emergency dispatcher in Tokyo. I'm sure _you've_ gained some unusual skills in your profession, not to mention as the son of a prominent police official as well."

"You would be correct," Saguru admitted.

"And Kaito's not my lover," Ran chuckled as the lock clicked and the first manacle dropped from Saguru's wrist.

"O-Oh?" he stuttered, blinking in bamboozlement. "Do forgive me. I had just assumed… When you said that he could possibly be the father of your child, I…"

Ran shook her head as she set to work on the other cuff. "Kaito…is my partner, the one who helps me keep Shinichi in check and actually enjoys listening to all of that Holmes chatter. He keeps me company when Shinichi runs off to solve a murder in the middle of our dates, and he helps me take care of Shinichi when he forgets to take care of himself. Kaito's my boyfriend's boyfriend…. And sometimes Shinichi gets into a voyeuristic mood, so…but there's no romantic passion between us like we each have with Shinichi," Ran explained, cheeks lighting up as she tried to help Saguru understand the complex relationship between Kaito, Shinichi, and herself.

"Kaito's like a sister to me. We're incredibly close, and we do love one another dearly, but we're not lovers. Any physical desire he might feel for me is solely because I resemble Aoko-san. He's never loved another woman since her, and I don't think he ever will again."

The other cuff dropped, and Ran smiled in satisfaction at her quick work.

Saguru rubbed his wrists as he bit his lip and considered his response. His face was as red as a crab's shell as he remarked, "I'm terribly sorry, and it's horribly indecent of me to ask, especially when your affairs are no business of mine, but…" He chewed on the inside of his cheek and lowered his voice so that Kuroba (who was currently scaling the bars of their cage like a monkey, searching for a weak point) might not hear. "I'm morbidly curious. You, Kuroba, and Kudo-kun are…a threesome?" It took a bit of effort to get the word out without stammering in embarrassment. "Or…something rather like a threesome, anyway, but…How did _that_ happen? The last time I saw Kuroba as Kuroba, he'd just had a catastrophic falling out with Aoko-san, and I'm pretty sure he was adamantly straight. I also recall hearing from a reputable source that Kudo Shinichi and you were the invincible power couple of the century and nothing and no one could come between you. So I'm having a little trouble reconciling my former perception of reality with what I've witnessed today…. If you don't mind indulging my notorious impropriety, that is," he added shamefacedly.

"Not at all," she chuckled, waving away his concern. "I said before that I already felt as if we knew each other well since Kaito talks about you all the time, and I have a feeling we'll grow a lot closer, going through _this_ ordeal together, so I don't mind talking to you about us. Besides, you're the closest thing Kaito has to a real friend besides Shinichi and me; you have every right to ask."

Saguru's cheeks turned crimson with guilt. He hadn't spoken to "Kuroba Kaito" since high school graduation, and _he_ was supposed to be the closest thing Kuroba had to a friend besides his romantic partners?

Saguru felt like a fraud.

"I'm sorry, Ran-san," Saguru stopped her before she could even begin. "But I don't want to deceive you. I have no right to anything concerning Kuroba or your personal affairs. Despite what you may believe, Kuroba and I are far from close. We haven't even—"

"—But you two _are_ close," Ran insisted, a soft smile never leaving her lips. "Maybe not as Hakuba Saguru and Kuroba Kaito—former classmates—but as Detective Hakuba and the Kaitou Kid. I've seen you two at heists, the way you banter back and forth, the way you joke and laugh and tease one another. Hakuba-kun, you understand him and the way he thinks. You _get_ him, and he doesn't have to pretend in front of you."

Her expression shifted. She was still smiling, but she somehow looked sad. "The truth is, he's more himself as Kid than when he puts on his 'Kuroba Kaito' act for the rest of the world every day. You know the real Kaito better than most people in his life. It doesn't matter that it's under an assumed name. That's how Shinichi and Kaito first met and got to know each other and fell in love too, so… It doesn't matter that your relationship is unconventional; it's still real, and you're still friends."

Saguru took a minute to digest this revelation. He slowly nodded as he realized that he really had been thinking of Kid as "rival and friend" these past few years.

"It is an odd relationship," Saguru admitted hesitantly. "But maybe 'friendship' isn't as an outlandish a label as I had first thought."

Ran beamed triumphantly, nodding in agreement. "So, like I said, it's okay for me to tell you about Shinichi, Kaito, and me."

Saguru sat quietly, rubbing at his throbbing wrists and trying not to look quite as curious as he really felt, as she recounted how she, Kudo Shinichi, and Kuroba Kaito had come to form their odd partnership.

"They met at the heists, of course," Ran began, and Saguru had to wonder which heists. He didn't remember the Detective of the East being present at the countless heists that he had attended.

Unless it had been during the periods he'd gone back to England. Now that she mentioned it, Saguru did remember Kuroba saying something about another detective moving in on Hakuba's turf during the clock tower heist that had occurred when Saguru had been away, but…had Kudo-kun and Kuroba really left such a big impression on each other after that one heist? Or had the other detective attended additional heists after that?

"And they developed something like the rivalry-turned-friendship that you and Kaito have," Ran continued, oblivious to Saguru's ponderings. "When they discovered that they were both working against the same evil syndicate, that was when they truly started to get close. I'm not quite sure when friendship and mutual admiration started to turn to love, but I do know from what Kaito's told me that he never would have survived his falling out with Aoko-san at the end of high school if it weren't for Shinichi," Ran informed gravely, a deep sadness filling her lavender eyes.

Saguru frowned as he felt a sharp pang in his chest. "Survive…figuratively or _literally_?"

Kuroba had been a little rough at the end of high school—more sour than usual, less clownish—but he hadn't _seemed_ self-destructive or like he was falling apart. At least…no. Now that he thought of it, Saguru had noticed a shift in Kid's behavior as well. He'd seemed a little more off-kilter than normal, a tad more reckless, but… The pain in Ran's eyes told Saguru that "rough" wouldn't even begin to cover the emotional turmoil Kuroba had been through.

Ran shook her head slowly, gazing down at her hands like she wasn't really seeing them. "Kaito broke after that. Shinichi told me about it later, and Kaito's talked about it a little, but…apparently all the confidence drained out of him and he started wondering if what he was doing was really worth it, if he really wanted…" Her voice caught, and she squeezed the hem of her skirt. "If he really wanted to keep going," she finished.

Saguru gritted his teeth, balling his hands into fists in frustration at himself, but he said nothing. He felt he hadn't the right to speak when where had he been whilst Kuroba had been suffering so?

England, half a world away.

It hadn't even occurred to Saguru to check up on Kuroda during the six months he was away after high school ended. He had never thought to make sure Kuroba was _really_ okay and not just putting on another one of his damn masks.

Ran bit her lip and mumbled, "I can tell from my interactions with him as Kid back in high school, but Kaito used to be such a strong, carefree guy. I think being Kid, learning about the Organization and what they do—how they ruin people's lives—drained him. He lost a lot, being Kid. And then everything with Aoko-san…that was what finally broke him."

She looked up at Saguru and smiled softly. "But Shinichi was there for him when it got to be too much. Kaito's told me about how Shinichi carried him through it…and I think that's when it happened, when they fell in love. Kaito got to see how compassionate and attentive Shinichi can be, and Shinichi…" She chuckled, smile strengthening. "Shinichi has always been protective and valiant. He's a real knight in shining armor. I think seeing Kaito's vulnerable side really did him in. They didn't tell me that, though. It's all my conjecture. I mean, the first I even knew of any of it was when Shinichi introduced us. Before that, I had thought that Shinichi was off on a big, important case and that we'd be getting married and living happily ever after as soon as he was able to wrap things up." Ran shrugged cheerfully, regaining her spirit.

Saguru raised an eyebrow. "I gather Kuroba threw a bit of a monkey wrench in the works then. How did Kudo-kun introduce you, if you don't mind me asking?" Saguru frowned, trying to picture it. "I imagine it took a great deal of planning, tact, and delicacy."

Ran laughed, shaking her head. "Shinichi has no tact. He told me he wanted to introduce me to someone important, we met at Poirot for coffee, and Shinichi said, 'Ran, this is Kuroba Kaito—my boyfriend.'"

Saguru's eyes widened until they resembled tea saucers. "Surely you're joking."

Ran grimaced. "I only wish I were. Things would have gone so much better between us if Shinichi had put a little more thought into things. He could have at least told Kaito what he was going to say. The poor guy thought he was going to meet the real girlfriend and be introduced as a friend of Shinichi's. Kaito didn't even know that Shinichi considered the two of them as dating, let alone as dating seriously."

Her expression darkened into a look of profound regret. "I didn't handle things very well, and I think my initial reaction is still causing problems between the three of us."

"How so?" Saguru prodded gently, aware that it might be a touchy subject.

Ran looked Saguru in the eye, guilt clearly inscribed on every line of her face. "I was horrible to Kaito. I treated him like a boyfriend-stealing slut for the first three months at least. I'm so ashamed to admit it, but…I was honestly _horrible_."

"But it wasn't your fault," Saguru rushed to make excuses for her. Ran had proven what she was made of, what kind of person she was many times over in the cases he had heard about. Saguru knew she was a selfless, loyal, loving human being. "I'm sure you were angry and hurt," he insisted. "From what I understand, you and Kudo-kun had been engaged to be engaged practically from the time you were in diapers. In your mind, Kuroba _had_ stolen the man that was practically your husband from you. It's Kudo-kun's fault for not managing the manner more carefully. I'm sure no one could blame you for reacting badly when—"

"—I blame me," Ran whispered, but there was an odd hint of tranquility in her voice, like she was at peace with what had happened. "Even if Kaito _had_ stolen Shinichi, I should have accepted it gracefully, tried to understand why things had happened that way and then tried to win Shinichi back fair and square instead of slinging mud at Kaito. I'm ashamed of the way I reacted, especially since learning that Kaito never intended to take Shinichi from me in the first place. I mean, you heard him earlier, how he goes on like Shinichi and I are a couple and he's just the mistress."

Saguru shifted uneasily. It was hard, hearing how the rival he respected had fallen apart while Saguru did nothing to help, not even aware of the issue.

Sorrow, pity, and regret made themselves at home on Ran's face once more as she continued, "I know he still just wants to slink away and leave Shinichi and me to our 'fairytale romance'. He thinks he's in the way, and he doesn't believe Shinichi loves him every bit as much as he loves me. It's horrible to watch him struggle with all that self-doubt and low self-esteem after marveling at his boundless confidence and talent as Kid all those years in high school."

Saguru nodded in agreement, the guilt over never noticing corroding his insides.

"Kaito doesn't feel like a real part of our family," Ran sighed. "That's why I sincerely do hope that my baby is his. That way, maybe he'll finally feel like he belongs. I just want him to realize how much he means to us…realize how deeply he's loved."

Just then, Kaito finished his inspection of their cell and hopped down, landing in a cat-like crouch. He straightened up with a sigh and walked over towards them, rifling one hand through his hair in frustration.

He paused, observing the unusual atmosphere between Hakuba and Ran, and raised an eyebrow. "What's up, guys?"

Ran shook her head and smiled like she had a secret. "Nothing. We were just chatting, catching up. It's been such a long time since we've seen one another. But how did your investigation go? Any luck?"

Kaito eyed Ran warily. He'd known her long and well enough to be able to detect when she was scheming, but he chose not to comment at that point and instead presented the fruits of his labors. "Well, with the tools we have on hand, things don't look so good," he glumly admitted. "If I had some ice, some kind of powder like blush or the stuff they use for fingerprint dusting, a latex glove, and something that emitted an electric current, then I could maybe make it work, but…" Kaito shrugged.

Saguru frowned. "Are you quite serious?"

The list of items necessary for obtaining their freedom seemed ridiculous and random to Saguru, but it was just ridiculous and random enough to be genuine, knowing Kuroba.

Kaito shrugged. "I was MacGyver in another life."

"Isn't he impressive?" Ran prompted, as proud of Kaito as if she had been his own mother.

"Perhaps…if he weren't a miscreant," Saguru conceded.

Kaito rolled his eyes.

Ran pursed her lips. "Hakuba-kun will change his mind once he knows better. It's your own fault for not explaining yourself properly, Kaito. He has no choice but to think of you as a criminal with the facts he's been given."

Kaito gave a sullen grumble, shrugged, and then got over it, returning his focus to the task at hand. "Whatever. It doesn't matter. Everyone turn out your pockets."

They all did so and then scrutinized the objects intently, stretching their brains, trying to think of ways to improvise ice, powder, a latex glove, and an electric current out of their hodgepodge assortment.

The three were so absorbed in the exercise that they failed to notice as a presence crept up upon them from the shadows.

They didn't see the woman sneaking up to their cell until she snickered, "My, my. Are the little doves trying to escape from their birdcage?"

…

Mikau: Ten points (Out of how many?) to the first person who correctly identifies the mystery woman at the end. Twenty-five points to anyone who knows what "Out of how many?" is from. But anyway, this chapter was a little longer and had some brief KaiShinRa backstory. And a lot of embarrassed but morbidly curious Hakuba. I wonder if you liked it. The former, not the…well, the latter is amusing, but… Would you guys be interested in a prequel fic about KaiShinRa? I might write it one day if anyone would care for it. Well, thanks for reading everyone! I hope to have another chapter within a month, but there's no telling how busy I'm going to be; we've got a massive-huge trial coming up in August, so… Take care all!


	4. Intruder

Mikau: Hello everyone! Thanks so much for joining me for chapter four! I hope you're having fun with this thus far and will continue to do so in the future. I, for one, am having a great time. I hope I get to continue updating regularly. Anyway, before we get started, I really want to thank everyone who reviewed last chapter: donahermurphy, Lady Lily Anne, Eve Of The Stars, IbeWildBella, Guest (I fear for any child of Shinichi, Kaito, and Ran's. ^.^;), icequeen75947, Kiri Kaitou Clover, Aniki-xvi, Fireflower19, Opal Spirit, and bobbyneko. Thanks so much for your support, guys! And now on with the show.

Disclaimer: If I owned it, I'd be caught up with the manga and anime. -.-; I've fallen behind again.

…

Chapter Four: Intruder

The group collectively jumped at the voice's sudden intrusion, and Kaito was on his feet in seconds, instinctively putting himself between the others and the perceived threat.

Standing at the bars was a foreign woman with long blonde hair and the prowling eyes of a jaguar.

Saguru tried not to see the gaping cleavage that the plunging neckline of her leather catsuit revealed. This day was really too much for his sense of modesty and propriety to handle.

The woman snickered at their alarm, not bothering to conceal her pleasure at catching them off guard.

"Whoops. I didn't mean to scare you." She seemed to apologize without actually apologizing at all.

"Vermouth," Kaito growled, and it took Saguru a moment to place the word as a name. "What the hell are _you_ doing here?"

Vermouth smirked as she shrugged. "You say it as if you suspect me of something nefarious."

"Because you're always scheming something nefarious," Kaito snorted right back. "Cut the innocent act, Vermouth."

She pouted. "You don't trust me."

"Have you ever given me reason to trust you?" Kaito eyed her warily.

Vermouth sniffed indignantly, injecting a hurt tone into her voice. "I should think I've proven myself all of those times I assisted your little troupe of do-gooders."

"You only helped when it suited you." Kaito rolled his eyes. "If something else had come up, you would have screwed us over in a heartbeat. You've only ever been looking out for your own best interests, so what's your game this time?"

Vermouth counterfeited an offended expression, voice saturated in injury. "Well, fine. I can see I'm not wanted here. Maybe I should just go and leave you to rot here. It's no skin off my back, after all. I just thought I'd do you a favor, but if you'd rather be grouchy and stay here than trust me..."

She shrugged again, smiling serenely as if it truly didn't matter either way.

Ran's eyes widened, and she snuck a quick glance at Kaito.

Saguru stayed where he was, trying to get a grasp of the situation. He thought it better to remain silent and let Kuroba handle things, as the magician obviously knew their visitor and was familiar with her methods and motivations.

Kaito arched an eyebrow at Vermouth. His interest was piqued, but he knew better than to leap forward blindly where the operative was concerned. There was always a catch.

He snorted. "As if you would just let us out of here."

"Why not?" she challenged, flipping a stray length of hair over her shoulder and out of the way.

"Because you don't roll that way. Read me the fine print on this contract," Kaito insisted.

Vermouth snickered, amused. "You don't trust me one bit, do you?"

"No. Especially not when I'd be gambling with Ran's safety."

There was a moment of silence during which Vermouth chose not to mention that Angel, of all people, would always be safe if _she_ had anything to say about it.

Finally Vermouth threw off her coy airs and broke the tense silence. "Look, Dove. You're just going to have to accept that I have my reasons. Consider this a freebie."

"There's no such thing as a free lunch," Kaito grumbled, mind racing to spot the trap, see through her ploy.

"Kaito?" Ran called softly, rising to her feet.

Kaito rushed to help, pulling her up and then steadying her.

Not that she needed it. The drugs she'd been dosed with had worn off by that time, and her muscles—which had been cramped and asleep—were now stretched out and working properly. Just because she was pregnant, that didn't mean she was made of glass.

Still. Kaito's attentiveness was endearing. It was reassuring to see how much he cared for her...how he had forgiven her everything mean, catty, and cruel that she had ever said or done to him.

Hakuba too got to his feet, feeling awkward remaining seated while everyone else was standing.

"Kaito," Ran repeated. "I think she's honestly trying to help us. She's helped us out before; I don't think she's a bad person."

Kaito bit his tongue, deciding it wouldn't help, him expounding upon all the ways in which Vermouth was a very, very bad person. Better to let Ran keep that naïve innocence of hers.

He sighed, giving Vermouth another once over. "So you're honest to goodness, seriously just here to help us escape? No strings attached? No firstborn child to forfeit at a later date?"

Vermouth smiled wryly. "Girl Scout's honor." She held up the middle three fingers of her right hand.

Kaito frowned. "Were you seriously a scout?"

Vermouth grinned. "No."

Kaito gave her a disapproving scowl.

Her Cheshire Cat grin faded into a grim line. Back to business. "We're running out of time. Are you two coming or not?"

"Three, you mean," Kaito corrected. "I hope to God you can count."

Vermouth shook her head. "Just you and Angel."

Ah. Well and good for the other two, but where did that leave Saguru? he wondered.

Kuroba was good enough to voice the detective's concerns: "And what about him? We're not just going to leave him here."

"That's right," Ran chimed in, nodding vehemently.

Saguru was glad of that, but something inside of him felt like he should protest. Ran needed to get to a doctor to see about the baby.

Saguru took a deep breath and tried to keep his wavering voice steady as he weakly insisted, "You should just go without—"

"—Shut up," Kaito snapped, giving his friend a warning glare. "Like hell I would."

"It's going to be hard enough getting the two of you out," Vermouth tried to reason with Kaito, but she knew she was fighting a losing battle. The boy had the pigheadedness of his mother. "Three would be impossible. Besides, I only have disguises and supplies for two. The boy stays here."

Here she looked directly at Saguru and shrugged. "Nothing against you personally, but the Organization wants you as leverage against your father. They won't kill you or treat you too badly as long as you're useful."

Kaito stepped between Hakuba and Vermouth. He would have hidden the detective from view if Saguru hadn't been bigger and taller than Kaito.

The magician walked right up to the bars and snarled, "I am NOT leaving him."

Vermouth blew out a long sigh and contemplated knocking the stubborn brat out. Only he'd be more useful conscious.

"Then we are at an impasse," she clucked.

"Not necessarily." Kaito waved for Ran to come forward. He took her hand and squeezed it as she came to stand beside him. He smiled at her softly, as if to say, "It's okay. I'm going to take care of you."

Ran frowned, puzzled. She had an uneasy feeling about this.

Her fears were confirmed when Kaito replied, "Just take Ran. I'll stay here."

"Kaito!" Ran yelped. She was afraid—not for herself but for him. She wanted to stay by his side, watch over him, protect him from his self-doubt, encourage him when he got disheartened. She didn't want to abandon Hakuba-kun, but more than anything she didn't want to leave Kaito, couldn't bring herself to do it.

"Kuroba—" Even Saguru started to argue, but he was cut off by another one of Kaito's venomous glares.

Kaito's expression softened briefly as he assured, "I'm not leaving you, Hakuba."

But Kaito's eyes hardened again as his gaze shifted back to Vermouth. "Take Ran. She's pregnant."

Vermouth's eyes widened slightly, but she kept her face carefully blank.

Kaito's voice was steely as he barked at her: "You get her out of here and to a doctor, you hear me? And if anything happens to her, Shinichi and I are going to find you."

Kaito's tone implied that once Shinichi and Kaito found Vermouth, not even a trained police dog would be able to find the pieces of her body.

"All right," the assassin assented. "But your father isn't going to be happy. He told me to get you out no matter what it took."

And now Saguru was confused because he was one hundred percent certain that Kuroba's father was long dead.

Kaito bristled as he spit back, "Tell my father he can go screw himself and actually get murdered for real this time while he's at it."

Saguru made a mental note to ask Ran about Kuroba's father later…if they all survived this ordeal.

"Now go," Kaito ordered. "Get Ran to safety."

"Kaito," Ran called softly, anxiety filling her face as she squeezed his hand.

Kaito squeezed back. "I'll be fine. You just worry about yourself and our little piece of immortality, okay?" He rested his other hand on her stomach, giving it a loving pat.

"Shinichi will be furious that I left you behind," Ran fretted.

"Nah," Kaito laughed it off. "He'll be too busy being relieved that you're okay that he won't even notice I'm gone."

"Kaito," Ran scolded, actually sounding angry this time. "Don't you dare say things like that. Shinichi loves you, and I won't stand by and let you trivialize his feelings."

"Sorry," Kaito whispered penitently.

She sighed, rolled her eyes, and shrugged it off. "Just make sure you come home safe."

"Of course I will," Kaito chirped proudly. "I'm the best at this kind of thing. I'll be fine."

And then he leaned in and kissed her full on the lips.

The surprise quite literally took her breath away for a second, it was so unexpected. They didn't normally kiss in that fashion unless Shinichi wanted to watch them do it. However, it certainly wasn't an unpleasant experience, and Ran wasn't going to complain. There was a certain amount of comfort in kissing Kaito. There was no passion, no lust, only warm affection to languish in.

The scene did make Vermouth wonder as to the identity of Angel's child's father, though. Before witnessing the kiss, she had been positive, but now…

Kaito pulled back and winked, turning on his Kid charm. "I'll always come back to you."

"Flatterer," Ran accused, a smile finally coming back to her lips. She turned to Vermouth, eyes pleading. "You're sure we can't all three go?"

"I'm sure, Angel." Vermouth pointedly avoided eye contact so there would be no danger of changing her mind. Truly Mouri Ran was her weakness.

"Then maybe I can help with that." A new voice joined in the discussion, causing Ran and Saguru to jump.

Vermouth and Kaito only tensed, on guard as a young man with caramel skin and silvery hair stepped out of the shadows and up to the bars of the cage.

…

Mikau: Good job, everybody! I believe everyone got it right; our mystery woman was Vermouth. Hopefully I did her character justice this chapter. I had never really written her before for any length, so I was a little unsure. ^.^; Anyway, our second mystery guest really shouldn't be much of a mystery since there are few characters fitting his description. Oh! And by the way, that "Out of how many (points)?" thing is from Baccano!. It's such an interesting anime! Lots of great characters, but a bit on the violent side. Still. I hope you enjoyed this week's update. Please let me know what you thought, and I should have another chapter coming up soon. Thanks so much for reading guys! I really appreciate your support!


	5. Rescue

Mikau: So…hisashiburi. ^.^; I decided that I want to try to finish this. I don't know if that will actually happen since I've been busier than ever with my promotion and new responsibilities and projects at work, but…I at least have the drafts of chapters six and seven done, so I figured I could polish them up and release them. Unfortunately, I think a lot of people will be disappointed because this story isn't going to be as epic as the summary may make it sound. I never thought I could do the Final Showdown justice, so this was pretty much doomed to disintegrate into my usual mix of romance, angst, healing, and the bonds between people from the start. Still, I hope you enjoy it anyway, despite its shortcomings. Thank you so much to everyone reading this for their patience and support. Special thanks to reviewers from last chapter: Lady Lily Anne, Eve Of The Stars, Opal Spirit, MeitanteiChristie, Boogum, GreenDrkness, Guest, Guest, and Julep7.

Disclaimer: If I owned it, I don't think I would have the discipline to work on the same thing for over twenty years. :/

…...

Chapter Five: Rescue

"Amuro-san?" Ran stared in surprise at the barista/private eye.

" _Bourbon_." Vermouth stretched out the word like taffy. "To what do we owe the pleasure?" Her sarcastic tone made it clear that she derived no pleasure from his presence.

"Oh, I was just in the neighborhood and thought I'd drop by." Amuro shrugged nonchalantly with a lopsided grin.

"How'd you know we'd been taken?" Kaito wondered out loud, surmising that the agent had been sent to retrieve them. "Did Shinichi send you?" Kaito couldn't help but hope. Somehow, it didn't seem unlikely that Shinichi had someone tailing them or had planted bugs on them or even had implanted trackers under their skin while they were asleep. He wouldn't put anything past his super hero boyfriend.

"Oh. You're on our side!" Ran exclaimed. She had never realized that Amuro was involved in The War. She had always assumed that he was what he appeared to be: a private detective who worked odd jobs on the side.

"He's on his own side," Vermouth snorted.

No one said "You're one to talk", but they were all thinking it.

"I did let Kudo know as soon as I found out where you were being kept—he was on the warpath, razing Tokyo to find you. But, no. No one sent me," Amuro assured, choosing only to respond to Kaito's second question.

"Someone must have; otherwise, you wouldn't be here," Vermouth snickered. "There's no benefit for you in this, so someone must be twisting your arm."

Amuro's confident grin subsided into a light frown. "...Someone may have witnessed Vodka abducting Kuroba and Ran-san and asked me to intercede," he begrudgingly admitted.

"Ah." Vermouth nodded knowingly. "Your cute little girlfriend begged you, and you couldn't say no."

"Good old Azusa-chan," Kaito chuckled, relief washing over him.

"I have no idea who you're talking about," Amuro insisted, cheeks darkening almost imperceptibly. "...She's not my girlfriend."

"Well, she must be someone awfully special if you've told her about your involvement with the Organization and you've trained her to recognize operatives like Vodka on sight," Vermouth reasoned.

Amuro's slight frown deepened and soured until he resembled an irate cobra.

"Leave them alone," Kaito chuckled. "They're super adorable together, and she makes him a better person."

Amuro opened his mouth to protest, but Vermouth spoke first.

She tossed her head and shrugged in a practiced gesture of indifference. "I can assure you I have no interest in tipping anyone unpleasant off about his little barista. His teenage romance amuses me, and I enjoy getting him riled up. She's the only thing I have to hold over him that he bats an eye at."

"Just remember what all I have on you," Amuro growled.

She waved him away dismissively, smug grin never leaving her lips.

"So...escape preparations?" Kaito cut in, bringing the two agents back on task. "I believe someone said we didn't have a whole lot of time?"

Amuro was the first to disengage and refocus on the mission. "I'll take Kuroba and Hakuba-kun since Vermouth-san doubts her ability to smuggle three hostages out of a loosely guarded warehouse."

Vermouth glared at Amuro.

In the same instant, Kaito turned a murderous look on Vermouth. "We're not inside a high-security facility in the heart of the enemy stronghold?"

"No," Amuro confirmed. "I wouldn't call it 'child's play' by any stretch," He walked over to the control panel, scanning a card he had lifted off a guard and punching in a string of alphanumeric soup he had memorized. "...But I think you could have managed it given proper supplies."

The cell door clunked open with a heavy, metal thud.

Kaito stared down Vermouth like a wolf about to go for the throat. "You just didn't want to take Hakuba with us."

She snorted and shrugged, sullenly refusing to meet his gaze. "There was no reason to take him when there was nothing to be gained but more of a hassle. I didn't want to jeopardize _your_ escape by bringing him along. I have my priorities straight."

"Snake," Kaito muttered and then took Ran ceremoniously by the hand and escorted her out of their cage.

Saguru followed behind closely, more than a little afraid that they'd all change their minds about letting him come too.

"Angel and I will go first and take the left stairway out the south wing," Vermouth announced, motioning for Ran to fall in step behind her. "You three wait five minutes before going."

"Aren't you going to disguise her?" Amuro arched an eyebrow. "You two are a little conspicuous."

Vermouth clicked her tongue and chided, "I'm not going to have her undress in front of two strange men. I'll change her once we're around the corner."

"Point," Amuro conceded.

"I suppose you don't count as a man, then?" Saguru whispered to Kaito.

Kaito shrugged. "I believe she's merely counting me out as a 'strange man'—though, I'm not sure how right she is about that—because Ran's tackled me and ripped my clothes off before."

Saguru glowered at his friend. "You're only being vulgar because you know it makes me uncomfortable, and you like watching me squirm."

Kaito smirked. "Oh, you think I'm lying? I tell ya, she may look all sweet and innocent, but Ran's a minx that can flip a bruiser twice her size over her shoulder like a rag doll. Don't underestimate her."

Ran smiled serenely, neither refuting nor corroborating Kuroba's story.

Saguru squirmed despite himself.

"Let's get going, Angel." This time it was Vermouth who got the party back on track.

Ran nodded and gave Kaito one last uncertain glance. "Be careful."

"You too," Kaito urged. "Meet up at Irene?"

She nodded in agreement. "See you there."

And they parted ways, Kaito digging his nails into his palms and praying for her safety and that of the baby as he watched her walk away.

At the same time, Ran was forcing herself to leave him, hoping that nothing would happen to break him or shake his confidence. Kaito could be incredibly strong, but he could also be extremely fragile.

The boys waited a good five minutes before setting out after Vermouth and Ran. They used the time to cobble together disguises for Saguru and Kaito out of the supplies Amuro had brought in a duffle bag for Kaito and Ran.

"I'll just wear the dress." Kaito shrugged. It wasn't a big deal to him. "Ran and I are about the same size."

"You're _sure_?" Amuro raised an eyebrow. Unlike Hakuba, he wasn't as familiar with Kaito's history of blatant crossdressing.

Kaito shrugged. "Yeah. I steal her clothes all the time. Sure, her chest is bigger, obviously, and she's gained a little weight with the baby, but we can normally fit into the same stuff. I'll just wear the dress you brought for her."

That hadn't been the question Amuro had been asking exactly, but the information contained within Kaito's answer was sufficient to clear any doubt in his mind that Kuroba Kaito had objections to wearing a dress.

"Okay then." Amuro shrugged it off.

"I mean, it shouldn't be a problem as far as believability goes. It's not even low-cut or particularly tight or anything," Kaito went on as he held up the classic black dress and inspected it. "Yeah. If I can pull off that skanky, dental floss outfit I wore for the Playboy heist, this chic little number should do just fine. Got high heels to go with it?"

Amuro pursed his lips and tried not to process the information he had been given. "Flats. They're easier to run in." He also pulled out a lab coat and a russet brown wig. "I was thinking classy yet sexy scientist for Ran-san. We have a few of those on the upper floors, so I thought it was a safe bet."

Now it was Kaito's turn to draw his lips into a thin line. "You don't wear women's clothes much, do you?"

"No. I don't," Amuro confirmed, glad that he could say so. He did not make a pretty lady.

Kaito clicked his tongue and sighed, "It'd be better with heels. Even a nice pair of wedges…"

"Like I said, I was going for function, not fashion," Amuro grumbled as Kaito slipped into the dress and put on the wig, tying it up into a messy bun that actually looked quite flattering.

"Sometimes, for the sake of authenticity, you have to sacrifice a little function," Kaito lectured. "Not that I'm not grateful for the rescue, by the way. It's just that I'm perfectly capable of running in heels."

"I can vouch for that," Saguru chuckled as he remembered one chase in particular. "I've seen him outrun a swarm of police officers in a Cinderella ball gown and six-inch heels."

Amuro took a moment to stare in disbelief.

Kaito shrugged. "I'm a professional…. Let me borrow your glasses."

Amuro frowned. "What?"

"Your glasses," Kaito insisted. "Don't you have them with you? Your Clark Kent glasses. The ones that you don't actually need with the thick black frames."

"How do you know I don't need them?" Amuro challenged, fishing them out of a pocket and handing them over to Kaito.

"You're a sharpshooter. Your eyesight is perfect," Kaito answered with a smug grin.

Amuro shrugged, accepting his loss.

"And that completes my sexy nerd outfit," Kaito announced. And he really did fit the "sexy nerd" image to a T.

Then Kaito turned to Saguru. "But what are we going to do about you? The clothes he brought for me are too small, and it's not like you can just waltz on out of here in all of your Eurasian glory." Kaito's head snapped to the left to face Amuro, though his body didn't turn. "Got any hair dye?"

A strangled noise barely escaped from Saguru's throat.

Amuro shook his head. "Afraid not. I was in a bit of a rush."

Saguru breathed a discrete sigh of relief.

Kaito shrugged. "It's fine. I have some temp stuff I use when I'm in a bind. Hakuba, bend over or get down on your knees or something so I can blend the dye evenly."

Saguru tried not to let his distaste for the entire situation show as he knelt down before Kuroba so that the magician could slather cheap dye into his beautiful tea blonde hair. He promised himself he would not cry and definitely wouldn't be looking into a mirror until this terrible ordeal was over and he'd washed out the black sludge that Kuroba was massaging quite deftly into his locks.

The whole process only took a minute or two, and then it was time to sort out clothing. In the end, they opted for pulling the lab coat tight over the clothes Saguru was already wearing because what they had on hand would only draw more attention by virtue of being too small for the British detective.

Kaito stepped back and surveyed his work. The look on his face told Saguru that the thief was largely unimpressed. Kaito turned to Amuro. "Tell me you have makeup on you."

"I brought a few basics in case Ran-san needed them—foundation, blush, eyeshadow, eyeliner…"

An insane grin slowly stretched across Kaito's lips. "Pe~rfect," he purred, reaching out towards Amuro with a "gimme" gesture.

Five minutes later, after much drawing and smoothing of lines and a great deal of blending, Hakuba Saguru was twenty years older and without a shred of his European ancestry.

"You're _really_ good," Amuro marveled, examining Saguru's face like a work of art on display. He was actually getting uncomfortably close in order to study the way in which Kaito had crafted wrinkles and fine lines.

"Thank you," Kaito preened.

"You've completely changed the contours of his face with only some rudimentary makeup," Amuro went on, seriously impressed. "I'm used to relying on prosthetics, so this is really something, especially considering how quickly you did it."

Kaito smirked. "I keep telling you that I'm a professional."

Amuro nodded. "I owe you an apology. I always thought of Kid as a bunch of smoke and mirrors and confetti, but you really are quite skilled. I'm sorry for dismissing you so easily. I was wrong."

Kaito opened his arms, palms up, in a wide shrug. "Apology accepted. Now let's get out of here before they catch us just standing around. We've given Vermouth and Ran enough of a head start."

The other two nodded in agreement, and they set off, Amuro leading the way.

…...

Mikau: So reading through what I have of chapters six and seven, I was thinking that this was pretty good. I really like how the me of six months ago played with the characters and the imagery and similes and metaphors that she used. At the moment, I don't think I'm as good of a writer as I was back then, so I feel insecure and like I won't be able to do this story justice anymore. Is that weird, thinking "I'm not as good of a writer as she is" towards my past self? ^.^; Well, hopefully I will be able to come up with something that you guys enjoy. Thanks for hanging in there with me. All credit for this chapter goes to Mikau circa June 2016.


	6. Escape

Mikau: Welcome to chapter six! In which poor Haku-chan has a panic attack and the HakuKai bromance really begins. I'm having fun working on this story again, and I think I'm almost done with the drafts. I believe I'm going to stop after Kaito, Ran, and Shinichi are reunited and make plans so that nothing like this ever happens again. I do have ideas for a whole other arc, but I don't think people would want to read it. We'll talk more about that later on, though. For today, I want to thank everyone who reviewed last time: GreenDrkness, Lady Lily Anne, Opal Spirit, Eve Of The Stars, and guest! And now, on with the show!

Disclaimer: If I owned it, I'd do more episodes where the Geniuses get together and work on cases. There could stand to be more collaboration.

…

Chapter Six: Escape

Mostly their escape consisted of sneaking quietly through a network of labyrinthine passageways, pressing themselves against the walls to peek around corners, and avoiding the odd guard or security camera.

Saguru's nerves were on edge the entire time, and he could hear the nauseating pump of his heart in his ears the whole way. He held his breath. Every footfall sounded to him like the crash of a redwood. His ears were ringing, stomach churning.

Kaito, on the other hand, was as calm as could be. He was an old hat at silently moving through spaces in which he had no business being at the risk of his life and freedom, so this was no different than breaking into the Tokyo Metropolitan Museum of Fine Art for him.

But he noticed the state that his companion was in, and when they stopped at the corner so that Amuro could check for guards around the bend, Kaito pressed his shoulder against Saguru's reassuringly as he gently took the blonde by the wrist, resting his fingers feather-light on the pulse point there. He leaned in so that his lips brushed against Saguru's ear and whispered, "It's okay. Just breathe with me, okay? In for one…two…three. Out for one…two…three…four. In one…two…three. Out one…two…three…four."

He repeated the count several times until Saguru was no longer feeling so much like a pocket watch wound so tight that it was about to explode into a rain of springs and gears.

"You're okay," Kaito cooed soothingly. "Just take deep, slow breaths. Act like you belong here. That's what I always do."

Saguru nodded, regaining control of himself.

Kaito pulled back and gave his rival an encouraging grin before releasing Saguru's wrist—pulse no longer erratic—and slipping away entirely.

Saguru found that he missed Kuroba's comforting warmth. But he didn't have long to reflect upon it for they were off once more, slinking down the long hallway like so many shadows.

Twice they had to double back and try a different direction due to the passage being too heavily guarded, but mostly they navigated the maze without too much trouble thanks to their excellent guide, Amuro.

Mostly it was a question of getting to the stairwell and climbing to the ground floor from whence they could get outside to Amuro's waiting car.

Amuro stopped on the next landing, turning to whisper to the other two. "We're here, and this is going to be the tricky part. We're headed for the west side entrance," he advised. "There should only be one or two men on guard at this hour, but we won't be able to just slip past them unnoticed."

"So what do you propose we do, Amuro-san?" Hakuba began gnawing nervously on his bottom lip.

"No sweat," Kaito chuckled. "We just waltz right past them, straight out the door. You and I will go first so it doesn't look like he's with us—because that would be suspicious—and he'll watch to make sure we get through okay and then join us later. If the guards give us any serious problems, Ninja-san will take care of them before they can raise the alarm, and we'll take off running."

Kaito glanced back at Amuro, seeking approval. "Yeah?"

Amuro nodded. "Works for me."

Saguru, though, did not like the plan. "J-Just walk past the guards?" he stammered.

Kaito shrugged. "It'll be simple. We're disguised well enough. If we just keep cool and act like we belong, they shouldn't give us trouble."

"Don't you have any of those nasty sleeping gas contraptions on you? I'd feel better if they were unconscious." Saguru squirmed, breath and heart rate speeding up.

"It's best not to leave evidence that something not quite right is going down if we can at all help it," Amuro tried to reason with him.

Saguru shook his head and gulped. "I can't do this. I can't. I'm not used to this whole mortal peril business like you two are. Yes, I've been kidnapped dozens of times when I was younger, but that was nothing like this."

Saguru had usually been rescued in the past. He'd found ways of contacting the police or sneaking away from his captors—usually muscle-headed baboons in it for the money. Sometimes there had been guns or knives, but never armed guards like this.

He couldn't do it. He was no Kaitou Kid, no Kudo Shinichi. Saguru was weak, defective, inferior, cowardly, useless—

"—Hey," Kuroba called firmly, pulling Saguru back from the brink like a safety harness. "Don't go there," he instructed, voice a little softer as he placed a grounding hand on Saguru's shoulder at the junction with the neck.

Kaito had been _there_ himself before...many times...and it was a horrible place.

He made Saguru meet his gaze. "You're okay. You _can_ do this. I'm right here with you, and I've got you, all right?"

Slowly he began to knead at Saguru's neck and shoulders, rubbing away the tension.

"Deep breaths," he urged, beginning to count them out once more. "You've got this. Okay?"

Saguru took a deep breath, reaching up to wipe away the tears that had been collecting at the corners of his eyes.

He felt like an idiotic cry baby. And there was Kuroba, ministering to him so gently, so patiently. Was this really the same man that had regularly teased and pranked him back in high school? Was that moody, cruel facade he'd put up just an act? Kuroba had been merciless at times. Or maybe this right now was the act. Maybe this would come up later in the middle of the heist banter—Remember that time in the stairwell when you broke down like a baby? It was possible. If Saguru hadn't seen Kuroba crumbling earlier downstairs in the cell when Ran-san had still been unconscious...

"Hey," Kaito broke in again. "You're thinking too much. Stop it and just breathe."

The counting and the massage started up again, and Saguru closed his eyes, trying to push the anxiety away.

This wasn't his first panic attack. Not by far. But it was, however, the first time someone had guided him through it like that, anchoring him, able to understand the twists and turns his thoughts were taking as they raced like thoroughbreds for the title.

Baaya had sat with him before, holding his hand and wiping away the sweat when he woke with a start at night, gasping, unable to breathe as the ceiling pressed down on him. But all Baaya could do was be present, completely unaware of what the problem was, what he was thinking, how to calm him down.

Kuroba, on the other hand, was right there with him. Because Kuroba had been through this before, Saguru suddenly realized.

"Breathe," Kaito instructed.

And Saguru did. The whirling thoughts dissipated, leaving him mentally exhausted but still in one piece.

"Okay?" Kaito whispered gently.

Saguru blinked. He was sitting with his back to the wall beside the door in the stairwell, Kuroba sitting between his legs, hands still gently soothing. Amuro was considerately standing as far away as he could possibly get in the cramped space, giving them as much privacy as could be afforded.

"There you are," Kaito chuckled, a relieved smile spreading on his lips. "Welcome back."

Saguru had to swallow a few times before he found his voice. "S-Sorry. I—"

"—Idiot," Kaito snorted, rolling his eyes. "Don't apologize like it's something you have control over."

Saguru paused, taken aback. He blinked, and his eyes locked on Kaito's—a pretty indigo in the dim light of the stairs.

"...Thank you, then," he finally decided. Thank you for so many things.

Kaito laughed and grinned—a bright, genuine smile. "Any time," he assured.

And Saguru wanted to believe that _this_ was the real Kaito, that that trickster in high school had just been a front that the real Kaito had hidden behind. He wanted to believe that there was someone who wouldn't laugh or think less of him when he was at his worst. He wanted there to be someone who understood and did everything they could to help without judging.

God, Saguru just wanted a friend— _this_ friend.

Kaito popped up to his feet in an easy motion and reached out his hand to help Saguru.

"Okay. Now that everyone's on board, let's get this exodus on the road, shall we?" Kaito suggested cheerily.

...Or maybe this was still an act and Kuroba was only doing everything necessary to make sure their escape went off without a hitch. Saguru couldn't be absolutely certain, could he? He could only hope Kuroba had been in earnest, but...Kuroba Kaito was a consummate actor.

"All right," Amuro spoke up, going over the game plan. "We're just going straight to the end of the hall and turning right. The guard station is right there. All you have to do is walk past and straight out the door. The car is parked two streets over going away from the water. I'll meet you there ten minutes after you get out."

"We're down by the docks," Kaito hummed in mild surprise.

Amuro nodded. "Ready?"

Kaito turned to Saguru and gently asked, "Ready?" as if it were okay if he said no. Like he'd be perfectly fine with waiting until Saguru was truly prepared.

And Saguru was sorry that he had ever doubted Kuroba.

He took a deep breath and nodded. "I'm ready. Let's go before I change my mind."

Without further ado, Amuro scanned the key card he had stolen on the reader to unlock the door and let them out of the stairwell.

They came out into a straight corridor like Amuro had described and walked down it at a reasonable clip, Kaito and Saguru first with Amuro trailing behind—not one of their party; merely a stranger traveling the same way.

They got to the corner and stopped. Saguru's face went white as a lump started to form and tighten in his throat.

"It's okay," Kaito mouthed to him. "I've got this. Just act natural."

Saguru gulped but nodded.

Amuro took a peek around the corner, surveying the situation. "One guard on the left-hand side. No camera. Should be easy enough... Whenever you're ready."

Saguru tried to keep his breathing steady as Kaito positioned himself on the left so that he would be between Saguru and the guard.

"Whatever happens, don't panic," Kaito whispered. "Just let me handle it."

"And I've got your back, Hakuba-kun," Amuro assured. "So don't worry. Nothing bad is going to happen. Worst case scenario, I knock him out and we all run for it."

Saguru nodded, but he was thinking that the real worst case scenario would be the guard somehow seeing right through them... _him_...and shooting them on sight. And it would be Saguru's fault.

"Let's go," Kaito whispered, waited three seconds, and then stepped forward, around the corner.

All Saguru could do was follow a step and a half behind and keep breathing. If he looked nervous, the guard would be suspicious. A fact that was currently making Saguru incredibly nervous.

At first it seemed to go extremely well. The guard—pot-bellied, nearsighted, and hair thinning—looked up as Kaito strutted confidently towards the door, hips sashaying in a distinctly feminine manner. He ogled while Kaito pretended not to notice.

But then he started to frown, looked down at his wristwatch. His frown deepened.

"Hey," he called out, getting up from his stool and stepping out of his little guard station.

Saguru was going to pass out. He was surprised his makeup hadn't already washed off with the profuse amount of sweat pouring off of him.

"Yes?" Kaito clicked his tongue impatiently. "Can we help you?" His voice came out deep, rich, and sensual in a way that made Saguru think of silk, leather, and whips.

"Isn't it a bit early for you two to be heading home? Your shift shouldn't end for another two and a half hours. I'm gonna need to see your IDs."

Saguru started to freeze up in terror. He concentrated on not panicking, letting Kuroba handle it, and the reassuring fact that Amuro-san was right there, just waiting to dive in and save them.

Kaito sighed, seemingly losing patience with the plebeian fool. "We're not going home; we're working. On a very time-sensitive project that the boss wants done yesterday. And you are standing in our way."

One thing was for sure: Kid could certainly command an audience. The man was a superb actor, and the guard was buying it.

"I-I'm sorry, Miss. It's just policy," the guard tried to argue his case. "And they told me to be extra careful today too. If anyone finds out I didn't follow procedure and check your ID, I could get sacked or worse!"

"You'll be sure to get worse when you explain to the higher-ups why the prototype for the new drug they requested was delayed because of your insolence. Now let us through. We don't have time for your idiocy."

"Is there a problem here?" a dark voice inquired in a manner that made it clear that if there _were_ a problem, someone was going to pay for it.

They all whipped around to see Amuro—No. Not Amuro, but an evil spirit possessing Amuro's body—stalk towards them, a dangerous look in the recesses of his eyes.

Kaito jumped right into the improvisation. "B-Bourbon-sama!" He did a good job of looking and sounding alarmed.

Saguru didn't have to pretend. He was scared senseless, though not of Amuro-san.

"N-No. Of course not. No problems here, Sir," the guard gulped, almost swallowing his tongue in terror.

"Just a misunderstanding," Kaito clarified. "My colleague and I are working on the new prototype drug, and we've been sent out to fetch some things before the end of our shift. This guard is just doing his job, trying to observe policy, but it's holding us up when we're already behind our deadline."

Amuro— _Bourbon_ raised an eyebrow at the guard. "Do you usually hold up our scientists in the course of their duties, conducting important research for our Organization?"

The guard shook his head, struggling to find his voice. "N-No," he rasped. "No, Sir. Absolutely not." He turned to Kaito and Saguru, desperation in his eyes. "In fact, I was just about to tell them to go on ahead. Have a nice day, guys. Thank you for your hard work." He gave a series of submissive bows, hoping they would just go and take the scary syndicate member with them.

Kaito bowed slightly to the guard, much lower to Bourbon, and grabbed Saguru's hand, tugging him towards the exit. "Have a nice night."

Both of the escapees held their breath as they walked calmly to freedom.

"Just keep walking like this until we get to the car," Kaito whispered to Saguru as the door closed behind them. "Don't rush. Just act natural."

But he needn't have worried. As soon as they were out of the line of sight of the security camera over the side door, they were home free.

…

Mikau: So I hope them just literally walking out the door wasn't too anticlimactic. ^.^; I feel like this story has been a major letdown in the "epic-ness" department across the board. But you guys seem to enjoy it regardless. Hopefully I make up for my lack of talent for writing action scenes with my intriguing character interactions. Anyway, I hope you had fun reading this chapter. I also hope to see you again next week!


	7. Friend

Mikau: Hey all. Welcome back. I've been in a bit of a slump lately, so I'm not really getting much writing done. I do have chapter eight's draft completed, so I'll try to get that to you next weekend, but after that, it might be a week or two before you get anything else out of me. I know exactly what I want to do, though. It's only a matter of getting in the mood to write it. This chapter, though, is where the drafts left off and I had to actually write the last third of the chapter myself, so here is where we'll see if I'm still any good at this. ^.^; I hope you enjoy it. Many thanks to reviewers from last time: Brightwave (Thank you so much! I can't tell you how relieved I am.), Lady Lily Anne, GreenDrkness, and SheeleOtaku3!

Disclaimer: I own nothing. Sorry. No witty disclaimer today. We've been waiting for my grandma to pass away for the past two weeks, and it's getting really hard to watch, so I'm just not in the mood for levity. :/

…...

Chapter Seven: Friend

Kaito and Saguru collapsed into the backseat of Amuro's Mazda in a pile of relieved sighs.

Saguru wasn't even sure if the car door had been open or if that was Kaito's doing, but he didn't even care at this point. He sank low in the seat, shaking, breath ragged. He felt like he was suffocating.

Kaito reached over and squeezed Saguru's arm reassuringly. "Deep breaths. Don't worry. You're safe, and we're almost out of here."

When Saguru's breathing had evened out some, the detective whispered, "Not soon enough. And I don't think I'll ever feel 'safe' again…at least…not for a few months. I'm always a bit skittish for a time after I've been abducted."

Kaito patted Saguru's arm and nodded in understanding.

"I mean, it was a normal day," Saguru muttered in a trance-like state, only half aware of what he was saying. "I was just going about my business when they took me. And it had been several years since the last time I'd been kidnapped, so I was beginning to think…that maybe it was all over and I was strong enough…could fend for myself, but…"

Saguru's eyes came back into focus, and when he continued, meeting Kaito's gaze, his voice was full of raw emotion and brutal honesty. "I was easy prey for them. I couldn't put up a fight at all, and it makes me feel helpless and weak. I was just getting confident in my ability to take care of myself, but now I know that I'm truly deficient."

Kaito was picking up on a pattern: Hakuba Saguru had internalized a bunch of nasty messages about himself, and it wouldn't be enough for Kaito to simply tell the detective that he was wrong. Kaito had to make Saguru realize that those beliefs he had been holding onto for so long were ridiculous and unfounded.

"I got captured too, you know," Kaito started softly. "Does that mean that I'm weak and deficient?"

Saguru audibly scoffed at this. "Absolutely not."

"Sounds like you're setting a bit of a double standard and giving yourself the short end of the deal," Kaito hummed pensively.

Saguru frowned, began to question his thought process, but then caught himself doubting his long-held beliefs in time to stop in his tracks and dig in his heels. "It's not the same," he argued. " _We're_ not the same, so it's not a matter of comparing equals."

"How are we so different?" Kaito wondered, playing at Socrates, only asking the questions, prodding and prodding and letting Hakuba unravel his own arguments.

"For one, _you_ fought, Kuroba. You could have just run away and avoided capture, but you chose to face down your enemy courageously," Saguru summarized, painting a rather idealized picture of the circumstances.

Kaito chewed on his bottom lip. "If I had been smart, I would have escaped so I could follow where they took Ran and come back with reinforcements. Tactically, that would have been better."

Saguru waved Kaito's reasoning away. "But the point is that you went down fighting. They just scooped _me_ up like a newborn kitten."

"Have you considered that your enemy was an evil crime syndicate full of professional killers?" Kaito posed. "That's not such an unworthy enemy to get abducted by in the grand scheme of things. I'd be more surprised if they _didn't_ get you. I mean, we _have_ been fighting against the Organization for half a decade now. I'd like to think that our arch-nemesis is a competent group."

Saguru pursed his lips.

"So why do you think their having an easy time of it reflects badly on you?" Kaito prompted.

Saguru had no answer at first and had to consider it a minute. "…I suppose…my knee-jerk reaction is that I have to be perfect…and when I'm not, it must be my fault and mean that there's something lacking or something wrong with me," he mumbled like a puppy that had been severely scolded.

Kaito's eyes widened slightly, and he kept going. "Why do you think you have to be perfect all the time? Nobody's perfect _all_ the time, not even Shinichi."

Saguru looked down at the floorboards and squirmed. "…So people will like me." The words were barely audible as they quivered on his lips. "So that maybe my parents will change their minds and be glad they have me."

Saguru kept his eyes glued firmly to the floor, unable to handle whatever expression Kuroba was making at that moment. From the way Saguru had heard the magician talk about his father in high school, he could tell that Kuroba Kaito had very much been a wanted, beloved child and, therefore, could not possibly understand how Saguru felt.

Kaito momentarily forgot his Socratic approach and went back to telling Saguru that he was wrong. He rolled his eyes and snorted, as if Saguru were just being overdramatic. "Hakuba, people like you just the way you are, and I'm sure your parents—"

"—My parents do not love me," Saguru cut in, a little annoyed at his friend's presumptiveness. Still, even though the words had a savage bite, Saguru's tone was broken, hollow, and drained. "I am a mistake, an accident that they still regret twenty years later. Don't tell me I'm just imagining things or blowing things out of proportion. I come from a broken home with books and imaginary friends instead of people to fill the voids in my life. I've never known your happy childhood full of magic shows and fatherly advice and laughter, so don't try to tell me how things are. You have no idea what it's like."

Well, _damn_. Now things made a lot more sense for the thief. Hakuba Saguru wasn't just insecure, in need of a confidence boost, the guy's whole life was on the rocks, and he had some deep-seated issues that needed to be addressed, mental scars to be tended to, emotional knots to be untied.

And that was going to take a lot longer than the two or three minutes they had left before Amuro was supposed to arrive.

Still. Kaito decided to start with: "I'm sorry. You're right; I have no idea what you've been through or how hard it's been for you. But I'm sorry, and if it's any consolation, _I_ like you just fine the way you are."

Saguru finally raised his eyes to stare incredulously, a flabbergasted "Why?!" dropping from his mouth, leaving it hanging open indecorously.

A melancholy, sympathetic expression flickered across Kaito's face as he thought about how sad it was that Hakuba was _this_ shocked to hear that someone actually liked him. But then he grinned softly and chuckled, "Hakuba, you're kind of awesome."

This revelation only seemed to throw the poor detective all the more.

"I like your quirks. I like the way you think, the way you can read me and keep up with me," Kaito elaborated. "I felt so freaking lonely for the longest time until you showed up because there wasn't anyone to challenge me, no one on my level. You make life less boring, so it's only natural I'd come to like you, despite your penchant for making things difficult for me as Kid."

Saguru nodded, thinking he'd understood. "I see. I entertain you, so you—"

"—Not _just_ that." Kaito was quick to jump in and correct. "Yeah, you're fun to be around, but it's not just all about relieving my boredom. I like you as a person too. I respect you," he clarified. "You've got your principles, and you stick to them. You're selfless and considerate, and you're always watching out for those who need help. You're a good guy, and I like who you are."

Saguru looked back down at his feet. "That doesn't sound a whole lot like me."

"That's the way _I_ see you." Kaito shrugged.

"Thank you, but—" Saguru was about ready to deny Kaito's praise a second time when the car door opened, causing both boys to jump.

"—Ready to roll?" Amuro slid into the driver's seat and started the engine in one fluid motion.

The car purred, and they were on their way before Kaito could even get an affirmation out of his mouth. But it was better that way. All three of them felt a lot better now that they were actually on the move, leaving that accursed warehouse behind them.

The boys' conversation died there, and the drive stretched on silently.

Once they'd made it a substantial distance out of sight of the docks, Amuro looked up into his rearview mirror at Kaito and asked, "We should be reasonably safe now. Well…at least we're not about to be ambushed at any second. So where are we going?"

"Shibuya," Kaito answered immediately. "If you can just drop us off at the station, I'll give any potential tails the runaround for a bit until I can get us safely to our meeting place with Ran."

Amuro frowned. "Isn't there anything else I can do for you?"

Kaito shook his head. "No. We can't risk anyone from the Organization seeing you with us and somehow making us. It'll be safer if we split at Shibuya. Thank you for bringing us this far, though. We'd be royally screwed without you, and we're seriously grateful."

"If you're sure there's nothing else I can do for you," Amuro stressed, changing their route accordingly.

"Actually, do you have scissors, and do you mind if I cut up this dress?" Kaito didn't miss a beat with his odd request.

Amuro didn't flinch. "In the first aid kit at your feet. And go for it."

Saguru frowned as Kaito retrieved the scissors and began to turn his classy scientist disguise into a trendy bar-hopper.

He altered the hemline and put a scandalous slit up one side, balancing it out by turning the tasteful v neckline into a plunging affair.

He took off Amuro's thick, black glasses and set them to the side as he took down the messy bun his coppery wig was currently done up in and ran his fingers through the piece in place of a comb, smoothing it until it lay relatively flat with a bit of a wave in it.

Then he turned to Saguru, grabbing an antibacterial wipe from the first aid kit and undoing the aging process Kaito's first makeup job had put him through.

Saguru held remarkably still, suddenly hyper aware of Kuroba's hands on his skin.

When they had been trapped in that terrible dungeon, Saguru had been full of nerves and internal panic, so he'd hardly been cognizant of the magician applying the first disguise. Now, in the stillness of the car gliding through the night towards safety, there was nothing to think about, nothing to focus on except gentle, expert touches and the cold, wet cloth.

And it was almost surreal because no one ever touched Saguru...romantically or otherwise. There were no displays of affection from his parents because no affection existed, and he had never quite managed a foray into the world of sexual relationships because no one had stayed interested in him once they had gotten past his physical appearance and reputation as a wealthy, up-and-coming detective. There weren't even claps on the shoulder or nudges of camaraderie from friends because he had none to speak of.

Besides Kid. And their relationship was professional. The most physical they had ever gotten was that scuffle over the gas mask back in high school. Sure, Kid had changed Saguru's clothes mid-heist a number of times, but Saguru had never actually _felt_ him doing it, so, in Saguru's mind, it didn't count.

But now here was Kuroba Kaito, gingerly ghosting his fingers over Saguru's cheeks, forehead, and lips in a most intimate manner, and Saguru didn't know how to react.

" _Maybe I shouldn't react. Kuroba's actions are completely innocent. Nothing about this is meant to be sensual, so there's no reason for me to get worked up, but…"_

There was nothing else to look at, nothing to distract his thoughts from how close Kaito's face was to his own, how beautifully violet Kaito's eyes were, how very much Saguru wanted to lean into Kaito's touch.

He absentmindedly wondered if this was what it felt like to be caressed by a lover. It was so soothing and reassuring after everything he'd been through the past day. He wished someone would touch him like this more often, wished that Kaito would…

Saguru snapped out of his daydream at the thought, _"I wonder if Kuroba strokes Kudo-kun's face like this?"_

Saguru closed his eyes and sighed softly. _"Of course he does. He, Kudo-kun, and Ran-san are expecting a child together. I'm such a fool."_

"Problem?" Kaito's gentle inquiry brought Saguru back to the present.

He opened his eyes to find that the light touches had stopped and Kaito was studying him concernedly.

Saguru forced his face into a weary smile to throw off his friend. "Just feeling a little drained, that's all."

Kaito nodded, easily buying the very plausible excuse. He quickly finished Saguru's new disguise and set about cleaning up the backseat.

Saguru picked up a piece of rubbish that had fallen to the floorboards and added it to Kaito's pile, saying, "You know, Kuroba, I really want to thank you for everything today."

Kaito shrugged as he continued tidying. "You're welcome. I mean, no big, so don't worry about it."

"It was a big deal to me," Saguru insisted, catching Kaito's attention and holding it with the desperate undertone to his words. "When you refused to leave me behind and then saw me through my panic attack. You really protected me and took care of me today, and I'm extremely grateful."

Kaito grinned reassuringly, still trying to lighten the atmosphere. "Come on. What are old high school rivals for?"

Saguru pursed his lips and considered, ultimately deciding not to let it drop. "High school rivals are for keeping you from blowing your brains out out of sheer boredom from having to sit through remedial physics lectures by coming up with elaborate coded messages for you to decipher. You, Kuroba, are more than just a rival to me. You're a true friend, and I can't tell you how much I appreciate you."

Kaito looked away, smiling bashfully as he blushed. "Yeah, well…it's not like you haven't kept me going in the past too. After Aoko…you might not have known it, but you kept me sane. Those six months you were gone to England were really rough on me. That's when I really realized how much I needed you."

Saguru inwardly winced as he was once again reminded of how he had failed Kaito in the past.

"So let's just call it even, okay?" Kaito chuckled, offering his hand to shake on it.

"It doesn't feel even," Saguru muttered but accepted Kaito's hand anyway.

Kaito waved away his protests. "That's only because you don't understand what I went through and how you helped. You saved me by just existing, so of course it doesn't feel like you did anything, but, trust me, even when you were in England, you were helping me. It was harder, yes, because I was physically alone, but even then I knew for sure that one person would truly miss me if I were gone, so…I was able to hold out long enough for you to come back and for me to meet Shinichi, and…" Kaito laughed in embarrassment, shrugging again. "Well, you get the picture, right? So you see we're even?"

Saguru bit his lip, still feeling guilty.

After a beat, a voice from the front seat interjected, "I hear that real friends don't keep score, so maybe you should keep that in mind."

Both young men jumped, so worn out that they had forgotten that Amuro up in the driver's seat was there with them.

"If you still feel like you haven't done enough, Hakuba-kun, just be there for him next time. I can tell you from experience that obsessing over the past only messes up the present as well," Amuro advised.

Kaito playfully nudged Saguru. "See? Listen to Amu-chan. He knows what he's talking about."

"Please don't call me that," Amuro grumbled, finally getting Saguru to smile.

"All right," the detective reluctantly agreed. "I'll be there next time with everything I have."

"Be prepared to listen to me whine about how my boyfriend cares more about cases than me," Kaito jokingly warned. "A _lot_."

"Even at three in the morning," Saguru declared with a resolute nod.

Kaito leaned forward, cupping a hand to the side of his mouth as he directed a snicker towards Amuro. "He doesn't know that I'm not really kidding."

…...

Mikau: And there you have it. Everybody say "Bye-bye, Amu-chan!" I need to get back to writing A Metamorphosis. :/ I really miss writing Amuro and Azusa. Anyway. I hope you enjoyed the HakuKai bromance. They're both broken in places, so hopefully they'll help each other sort those issues out. Thanks as always for reading, guys. I'll see you next time!


	8. Reunion

Mikau: Well, my grandma passed away this week. The funeral service was nice, and it was great to see my family from out of town, but now I'm just tired. Thanks a bunch to reviewers: GreenDrkness, Lady Lily Anne, Eve Of The Stars, and Opal Spirit (That's okay. I'm glad you liked the chapters! Good luck with school). So in this week's chapter we have the reunion with Shinichi, Hakuba angst, and the development of feelings. I wrote this chapter completely from scratch, so I hope it's okay and you guys still like it. I've got almost the whole fic done in drafts. I just need to write the end, edit everything thoroughly, and then do the omake chapter. Anyway, I hope you all enjoy chapter eight.

Disclaimer: I own nothing. Additionally, trains in Japan generally stop running for the night around one in the morning, so, really, in this chapter, Hakuba and Kaito would have had to have gotten a taxi or walked, but…please disregard that fact. Besides that, all the train and subway lines and transfers are legitimate to the best of my memory. Provided they haven't changed since I was last in Tokyo and I haven't remembered wrong. ^.^;

…

Chapter Eight: Reunion

Amuro dropped Kaito and Saguru off near the Hachiko statue at Shibuya station, and after the boys had once again expressed their gratitude and they'd all wished each other well in parting, the pair headed down to the subway platform going towards Meiji Jingu. They rode it all the way to Ikebukuro where they switched over to the Yamanote JR train line.

"How are you doing?" Kaito inquired softly as the train gently rocked them back and forth, nearly lulling Saguru to sleep.

The detective gave a start and sat up straighter. "Fine. I'm fine. …You?" he returned the question, embarrassed that he'd almost nodded off.

Kaito smiled indulgently. "I'm hanging in there. I'll be better once I know for sure about the baby."

"Right," Saguru mumbled. "I'm sorry. I'd almost forgotten what with all of the excitement…."

Kaito shook his head. "No use worrying about it now, I guess. The important thing at the moment is making sure no one is tailing us."

"Do you think they are?" Saguru gave a start, a little surprised.

"Always operate under the assumption that the station is bugged, someone's put a tracer on you, your phone is being tapped, and you've got a tail to shake with these guys," Kaito sighed. "I don't think that anyone's actually following us yet, but they've probably found out we've escaped. If not, they will soon, and then they'll be looking for us. It's best to keep moving."

Saguru nodded. "You're probably right. Unfortunately, I have more experience tailing than shaking a tail, so I'll leave our movements to you. Not that I have much choice, seeing as I don't know where the meeting place is anyway."

Kaito smiled contritely. "Then I apologize in advance, but I'm going to be running you all around central Tokyo for the next few hours. You can go ahead and sleep for now, though. We're taking the long way around the loop to get to Shinjuku. We'll get off there and hit up one of my safe houses for some new disguises."

"You're sure it's all right to sleep?" Saguru raised an eyebrow skeptically.

"It'll be almost an hour before we get there. You might as well rest. I know you're not used to all this craziness with the Organization like I am. I can tell you're exhausted, and it'll be harder later if you don't take the opportunity to recharge a little now," Kaito reasoned.

Saguru bowed his head slightly. "If you're sure. Please forgive me."

Kaito waved away the apology. "Oh, please. It's completely fine. Here. Rest your head on my shoulder. We'll just look like a couple coming home from a night on the town. It'll help our cover if anyone gets in the same car as us."

Saguru blushed vibrantly as Kaito offered his shoulder, but after a little convincing he gave in and did as Kaito suggested. It took him a few minutes to drift off, he was so unaccustomed to and uncomfortable in his current position. It wasn't so much the physical discomfort, though Kaito's shoulder wasn't exactly the memory foam pillow Saguru was used to sleeping on, and the height difference made the angle a little awkward until they adjusted.

Kaito was warm, and Saguru could hear his calm, regular breathing. Kaito's scent was also distracting. Saguru could make out the faint hint of something sweet like a vanilla shampoo or body wash, but that had been long covered up by the musky smell of sweat and exertion from their ordeal. Being able to smell his rival-turned-friend like this was odd and almost too personal considering the only other people who knew Kaito's scent so well were his lovers.

As consciousness faded, Saguru wondered if Kudo Shinichi ever slept with his head resting on Kaito's shoulder or chest or if Kaito was the one to rest his head on Kudo.

Kaito woke Saguru up about an hour later just before they pulled into Shinjuku Station. They exited there and walked two blocks to the safe house which turned out to be a sealed off attic. Kaito changed their appearances once more, and they were two college kids out too late to be up to anything good.

"Why do you keep dressing as a woman?" Saguru wondered aloud as they made their way back to Shinjuku Station.

"They'd be looking for me as a man, most likely, just like they'd be looking for a foreign-looking blonde in your case. If so, isn't it better for me not to be a man and you not to look European?" Kaito explained.

"And here I thought it was for the moe factor," Saguru chuckled, seeing the magician's point.

"There's that too," Kaito snickered. "But, honestly, I feel safer running around as a woman anyway."

"Oh?" Saguru's brow furrowed. "How so?"

Kaito gave a nonchalant shrug. "Generally people are more chivalrous towards women. They also underestimate women, so there's the element of surprise working in my favor when I turn out to be stronger than they supposed. Sure, there's the downside of the gropers on trains and the perverts with their catcalls, but I consider it a pretty fair tradeoff for my purposes."

Saguru nodded in understanding, and they fell into a relative, exhausted silence as they took the train from Shinjuku to Yoyogi.

Once there, they got on the subway and took it to Roppongi. They had to transfer to the Hibiya line to take the subway to Ebisu, and there they got on the Yamanote JR line once more to return to Shibuya but not before they hit up another safe house at Ebisu to change disguises one final time.

Back at Shibuya, the zombie-esque pair walked to Harajuku Station.

"How much farther?" Saguru wondered, desperately hoping their journey was entering its final leg. "I don't think I can keep going much longer."

"Three blocks," Kaito promised. "We're almost there, and you're doing such a good job, Hakuba. I can't tell you how proud I am of you. You're being such a good sport, so just hold on, okay? Need to lean on me for support?"

Saguru's face flushed, and he shook his head. "No, thank you, Kuroba. I can make it."

If Kaito could keep going after everything he'd been through mentally and physically that day, so could Saguru. If they were really so close, Saguru didn't want to be the one to hold them back. He knew his friend must be desperate to be reunited with his lovers and learn the fate of his unborn child.

True to Kaito's word, they soon arrived at a quaint, western-style cottage down one of the many narrow backstreets. Kaito knocked three times in a pattern reminiscent of either the opening of the first movement of Beethoven's Moonlight Sonata or The Song of Healing from The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask. Knowing Kuroba, it could go either way.

"So Ran will know it's just us, if she's already here," Kaito explained before opening the door for Saguru.

At that point, the detective was so drained that he couldn't have said if Kaito had picked the lock or used a key.

They stepped into the entryway, and Saguru began to take off his shoes until Kaito stopped him: "It's easier to escape if you're already wearing shoes. Not that I think that will happen, but just in case."

Saguru nodded and followed Kaito out into the front parlor. A sofa and assorted armchairs were situated around a sturdy-looking coffee table with a tasteful floral centerpiece that Saguru had a feeling Ran had picked out. A roaring blaze was going in the fireplace on the far wall, and a line of bookshelves covered any trace of the wall to the right. In back, there was a row of doors that disappeared down a hallway that Saguru assumed wrapped around into a tidy kitchen. The layout of the building felt a little off, but its quirky nature seemed oddly to fit the threesome.

"Ran!" Kaito called out, racing across the room to the sofa where Ran was tranquilly seated, dozing.

She woke with a start, but the alarm quickly left her face as she recognized her partner. She smiled, opening her arms to him.

"The baby?" Kaito gasped, tears of desperation finally falling now that the worst was over and he could afford to feel all of the emotions that had been crushing down on him that day.

"Fine," she assured with a large but tired grin. "We're both fine. They did some bloodwork on me, and I got to listen to Baby's heartbeat, and everything's normal. They told me to rest, but everything is okay."

"Thank _God_ ," Kaito sighed, all of the energy going out of him. He sank to his knees, still draped over Ran with his head resting on her stomach. "Thank God," he hiccupped, breaking down into sobs.

"Shh," Ran hummed softly, running her fingers through Kaito's hair. "It's okay, Kaito. Oh, my poor Kaito. I'm so proud of you. You did so well today. Shh. That's right. Just let it all go. We're all okay. Everything is okay."

"I feel like such a loser, needing to have you comfort me," Kaito choked, somewhere between a cough and a giddy laugh.

"Hush, you," Ran clucked, bending forward to press a motherly kiss to Kaito's temple.

Kaito did quiet down, still shaking as he wept softly into Ran's stomach, but it was obvious that he'd regained much of his composure and had more control over his emotions now.

Ran looked up and smiled serenely at Saguru, motioning him over. "Don't mind us, Saguru-kun. Come in and sit down. Rest. The kitchen is down the hall and to the left, so help yourself to whatever you like, if you feel like you can stomach anything at the moment."

"' _Saguru_ …-kun'?" The blonde blinked as he realized she had called him by his given name instead of his surname.

"Do you mind?" Ran's smile faltered slightly, and she tipped her head to the side. "It didn't seem right to call you 'Hakuba-kun' after pulling off a daring escape together and letting you into our inner circle. If you don't like it, I'll go back to 'Hakuba-kun', but…"

She trailed off, giving him space to make his preferences known.

"No, that will be fine, Ran-san." Saguru did his best to return her smile as he crossed the room, coming to sit in one of the armchairs next to the sofa. "Thank you. And I may take you up on your offer of food later, but right now, I just want to sit and try to process."

"Understood. But just let me know if there's anything else you need." She nodded kindly, turning her attention back to Kaito in order to give Saguru some much needed mental space.

About ten minutes later, Kaito seemed to settle down or perhaps run out of tears. He got to his feet and wiped his face with the handkerchief Ran offered him.

"Better?" she cooed softly.

Kaito nodded, doing his best to give her a reassuring smile. "Thanks to you."

Ran gently waved Kaito's gratitude away. "For better or worse," she reminded.

Saguru raised an eyebrow, taking a minute to scrutinize the pair's fingers for rings. Finding none to speak of, he deduced that the vow must have been a preemptive one with the understanding that the trio was engaged to be engaged.

Kaito blushed, mumbling, "That wasn't a promise you made to me."

Ran shrugged. "You came part and parcel with Shinichi, so the promise transfers. Besides, you're a lot easier to love than he is. There are a lot of days I like you better than him, so it's only natural I'd want to take care of you for better or worse too, don't you think?"

"I feel the exact same about you," Kaito chuckled as he leaned over to give Ran an Eskimo kiss. "You doing okay, Ran?"

"My nerves are a little shot at the moment, but I'll be better once Shinichi gets here," she confessed. "He should arrive any minute."

"He's probably making sure no one follows him. You know how paranoid he is about that," Kaito reasoned, hoping it would put his partner at ease.

Ran nodded. "You're probably right. I'm just anxious to see him, and I know you understand that."

"Do I ever," Kaito sighed, turning to Saguru. "You doing all right, Hakuba? Don't feel like you have to sit up waiting for our mate with us. You can go to bed at any time."

"Oddly enough, I'm wide awake," Saguru laughed softly at the irony. "I'm exhausted yet my mind is too frenzied to shut down for the night. I've been thinking about this Organization you briefly hinted at several times today, and I wonder if you won't tell me a little more about what's going on. If you're not up to it now, that's fine, but…if they're so serious that I am to assume police headquarters is compromised and that these people would snuff out human lives as soon as swat a mosquito…and if you and Kudo-kun have been fighting against them since back in high school, they must be wide-spread and quite formidable. I wonder how I missed all this. Unless…does this have anything to do with what KID is searching for and the shooters at the heists?"

Kaito gave Saguru a pained smile as he went to sit on the arm of the sofa closer to Saguru's chair. "I kind of wanted you to miss all this. I've spent these past few years trying to protect you—and the rest of my Taskforce too, for that matter—from the Organization, but I guess there's nothing I can do now that they've already got their sights on you."

"Kuroba, just what are you involved in?" Saguru sighed, rubbing the bridge of his nose and settling in to listen as Kaito hit the highlights of his involvement with the Organization, the FBI, and Kudo Shinichi.

About twenty minutes into the discussion, there came a knock at the door in the same three deliberate raps that Kaito had used about an hour before.

Kaito and Ran visibly sat up straighter in their excitement, tensing as they waited anxiously for their beloved.

The door flew open with a bang, and a flustered Kudo Shinichi barreled through. He cast a wild glance about the room, and, when he saw his family unharmed, all of the stress and fear seemed to fade away.

"Shinichi!" Ran stood, her face glowing in exhilaration.

Shinichi darted across the room to her.

"Ran!" he shouted, tightly embracing her, kissing her lips and her cheeks and her neck as he buried his own face in her hair. "Thank God. Did they hurt you? The baby?"

"Fine," Ran assured through tears of joy. "We're both fine, so go kiss your boyfriend already. Try to comfort him; he's had a bad day."

Shinichi looked up to find Kaito standing awkwardly to the side, keeping his distance so as not to interfere with Ran and Shinichi's emotional reunion.

Kaito and Shinichi's eyes met, and Kaito's gaze hurriedly flickered down to the floor in shame. He reached one arm across his chest to rub nervously at his other arm, all the while chewing on the inside of his cheek, searching for the right words to express how sorry he was.

"Kaito?" Shinichi called tentatively, observing the whorl of fear and guilt enveloping his boyfriend.

"Shinichi…" Kaito mumbled timidly. "I'm sorry. I'm sorry I couldn't protect Ran and the baby. It's my fault that—"

"—Kaito," Shinichi interrupted firmly yet not unkindly, closing the gap between them in three strides. "Hush," he whispered, wrapping his arms around Kaito and crushing their bodies together.

Saguru's face flushed, and he got the feeling that he should probably look away. It felt like he was watching something too personal, not meant for his eyes…but he couldn't help but look and notice the way the lines of their bodies fit together: Kaito's chest flat against Shinichi's, Shinichi's leg naturally slipping into the curve of Kaito's thighs. Even the way their arms entwined around each other seemed to snap into place as a matter of course, like two perfectly matched jigsaw pieces.

Saguru wondered if his own body could possibly fit Kaito's like that.

The thought was only there for an instant before Saguru reached out and seized it like a butterfly, crushing it in his fist until it oozed between his fingers.

" _Just where the hell do you see room for yourself in that picture?"_

"Kaito," Shinichi whispered in his boyfriend's ear, voice strained. "No one blames you. Protecting Ran isn't your job, so you don't have to apologize. In fact, next time—God forbid there is a next time—I want you to _run_."

Kaito pulled back just enough to look Shinichi in the eye searchingly. "Run?"

"Yes, run," Shinichi stressed. "Don't risk yourself. Leave Ran and run."

Kaito shook his head, trying to process. "But…"

"I _can't_ lose you both," Shinichi explained, his grip on Kaito tightening, his fingers digging into Kaito's shoulders. "So I need you to focus on protecting _you_. I know that's a bit of a foreign concept," Shinichi chuckled softly. "You've always sacrificed yourself and put your own life on the line for others just like how I'm always running into burning buildings and acting as a decoy to draw the suspect's attention, but…I need you to prioritize keeping yourself safe. Okay?"

Kaito shook his head again, repeating, "But I couldn't just…it was my fault today that Ran—"

"—Kaito," Shinichi intoned more sternly. Once he had Kaito's attention, his voice softened once more, and he cooed, "Kaito, none of this is your fault. I'm not mad at you; I'm mad at myself. I'm the one to blame because I wasn't there for you two. I should have kept my promise and taken you both to dinner like I said I was going to instead of getting caught up in my work."

"Again," Ran coughed.

"Again," Shinichi docilely admitted. "…even though she's been telling me that I have work-life balance issues for the past…"

"Fifteen years," Ran helpfully supplied. "But I don't think it's very helpful to assign blame. Why don't we all just celebrate the fact that everyone is physically healthy and safe and then make prevention plans to keep something like this from happening in the future? I think that would be a better use of our time, don't you?"

"What would I do without my voice of reason?" Shinichi sighed sheepishly, a grin breaking out on his lips.

"I would have been lost without her at least a dozen times today alone," Kaito chuckled, resting his head on Shinichi's shoulder.

"Yes, yes. I'm wonderful." Ran rolled her eyes with a satisfied smirk. "But, Shinichi, I notice that you still haven't kissed your boyfriend yet. His head has been a mess all day, and I think he could really use you kissing him into an oblivion right about now. Hint. Hint."

Shinichi tipped Kaito's chin up so that their eyes met. "That so?" he hummed, sounding almost feral.

Kaito nodded. "Mmhm."

Saguru's cheeks reddened again. He did look away at first, but then he reasoned, _"If I can never have this for my own, can't I at least watch and have the memory? They're the ones letting me into their confidence, exhibiting themselves before me as if I'm not even here. Is it so wrong, then, for me to look, since I'm not allowed to touch?"_

Saguru surreptitiously glanced up at the lovers, but he needn't have feared them noticing that they were being stared at. For them, nothing else in the world existed at that moment except the other. Tongues clashed, lips nibbled and pleaded, fingers dipped under waistbands and ravaged hairdos, hands roamed and caressed, hips rocked gently in a playful longing as if whispering, "Not yet. Not yet, but _soon_ ".

And Saguru studied Kaito's face, memorizing the high elation, sweet contentment, and untamable passion a partner could awaken there. He wondered if he too could ever hope to illicit such wild ecstasy from the magician.

His mind immediately and brutally rejected that idea. He'd never make Kaito giggle and purr like that.

" _If not Kuroba, then…maybe someone else someday?"_

His mind laughed the suggestion down, and all Saguru could do was try not to cry and attempt not to appear to be staring as Kaito playfully bit Shinichi's tongue, taking it prisoner and sending the lovers into a bout of blissful laughter.


	9. Sleepless

Mikau: Hi guys. I think this turned out pretty well despite the emotional rollercoaster I've been on lately. Work is splendid, and my routine is kind of getting back to normal. We're still working on going through Grandma's things, but I think everyone is doing pretty okay. Anyway. This chapter is definitely rated T thanks to Kaito's lewdness and Kaito, Shinichi, and Ran being in a mature, committed relationship. It's not explicit, though, so don't get your hopes up/get freaked out. Most of the action takes place with Hakuba and his ongoing angst. Poor baby. At least he's getting better? In other news, thank you so much to all of the reviewers from last chapter: GreenDrkness, SheeleOtaku3, Eve Of The Stars, Lady Lily Anne, and Opal Spirit. And now on with the show.

Disclaimer: If I owned it, Hakuba would make regular appearances in Detective Conan. I actually think Conan/Shinichi and Hakuba would be really good friends. Much to Kaito's chagrin. I'm just waiting for the two detectives to appear at the same heist together. I don't believe that's happened in canon yet.

…...

Chapter Nine: Sleepless

"All right, you two," Ran gently chided her mates. "That's enough. You're making Saguru-kun uncomfortable."

Kaito gave Shinichi a quick smooch before untangling himself from his boyfriend and turning to Saguru with a sheepish grin. "Sorry, Hakuba."

"No, it's quite all right," Saguru insisted, even though it didn't feel that way. "You two have been through a lot today. It's only natural to be enthused about a reunion with the man you love."

"Still, we shouldn't be such exhibitionists in front of an outsider," Shinichi added, bowing his head slightly to Hakuba in greeting.

"Nonsense," Ran scoffed. "Saguru-kun is like family."

"I suppose that he is, if you're referring to him by his given name," the great detective hummed skeptically, and Saguru shrank, feeling _very_ much like he didn't belong. "When did that happen?"

Ran swatted at Shinichi to make her disapproval known, even though she was much too far away to even dream she'd hit him. "Stop. Saguru-kun and KID have been close for years now. It may have only become official starting today, but Saguru-kun has always been one of the group. Be nice. And don't embarrass him; he's very proper," Ran decreed, and Shinichi easily acquiesced with another bow.

"If you say so, Dear."

"What if I say so?" Kaito wondered, a bit put off by Shinichi's cool attitude towards the blonde. "Hakuba's a good friend, and he was instrumental in our escape today. You could stand to be a little more friendly with him."

Shinichi smiled wearily. "All right, Love. As you wish." He turned to Saguru (who stood) and bowed once more for good measure, lower this time in apology. "You'll have to forgive me, Hakuba-no-ni—rather, Hakuba…" He wavered a minute between honorifics before deciding, "How about just 'Hakuba'? I'm sorry. It's been a long, stressful day for me too, and I'm a little testy. I appreciate everything you did for my family today, and Kaito and Ran are obviously very fond of you, so I hope you and I can become better friends as well."

"I'd like that very much." Saguru returned the bow, dipping his head a little lower than Shinichi's. "I'm quite attached to your fiancés as well."

"Good," Shinichi chuckled. "Maybe you can help to keep them from getting into so much trouble."

Saguru snorted lightly and indicated Kaito. "That's a full time job with this one."

Shinichi burst out into a laugh. "Right?"

"Hey," Kaito pouted. "No fair ganging up."

"You'll change your tune when Ran and I gang up on you later," Shinichi snickered, giving Kaito a playful nudge with his shoulder. "For now, why don't we all head into the kitchen? I'm starving. Have you all eaten yet?"

"No, I think we've been trying to digest today's events first," Ran answered with a faint smile.

"Worry about your physical wellbeing first," Shinichi advised. "Especially you, Ran. Baby's probably wondering where dinner is." Shinichi gave Kaito a gentle push in the direction of the kitchen before going to tug on Ran's sleeve and herd her in there as well. "Feel free to join us, Hakuba. You've been through quite the ordeal too," Shinichi thoughtfully added, trying to include the other detective out of consideration for his partners.

It wasn't that Shinichi disliked the Brit, but more that the stress of the day was pressing down upon him like a trash compactor, and he really just wanted to be alone with his family, away from prying eyes.

Saguru followed the trio back to the kitchen with some hesitation. Before, with just Ran and Kaito, Saguru had been fairly comfortable in the charming little safe house, but since the advent of the master, he couldn't help but feel like an intruder.

A little of the tension melted as he entered the cheery, welcoming kitchen with its sunflower print and warm yellow walls. Despite rarely being used, it still felt homey and natural. He could almost see Ran and Kaito at the stove together, making breakfast or maybe even standing at the sink, flicking soap bubbles at one another as they washed dishes. It reminded Saguru of Baaya's kitchen.

A slight pang of homesickness hit him in the gut. He wondered if Baaya were worried, if she even realized something was wrong. Odd hours weren't unusual for Saguru, but he typically called her if he were going to be late. Perhaps he should call her now and let her know he was okay? But his captors were probably watching the house, and if he wasn't careful, he'd give them all away and get Baaya caught up in this mess.

Kaito broke Saguru out of his thoughts, calling the detective over to the table as Kaito set down an armload of canned and packaged goods. "Come on over and help yourself, Hakuba. Sorry it's all shelf-stable stuff, but it's just not practical to keep all of our safe houses stocked with perishables at all times."

"Actually," Ran cut in with a chuckle. "I picked up some produce and the basics—milk, eggs, bread—on my way here. Upper left-hand side of the pantry."

Kaito went back to check where Ran had indicated, and he returned to the table with a bowl of assorted fruit.

"You are the best," Kaito joyfully declared, turning to Saguru. "Isn't she the best?"

"Indeed." Saguru smiled sheepishly, tentatively taking the seat across from Shinichi. "Thank you for being so level-headed and thoughtful, Ran-san."

Ran waved away their praises with a pleased smile.

Shinichi, however, frowned. "Did anyone see you go into the store? Can you be sure you weren't followed?"

Ran rolled her eyes and gently assured, "I changed disguises twice and did plenty of backtracking, so don't worry, Shinichi. Kaito's taught me well."

"That's my girl," Kaito cheered, grabbing one of the bananas and proceeding to peal it in a slow, deliberate fashion.

Ran quirked an eyebrow at this. "I should have bought kiwi instead. Remember that this isn't dinner and a show, Kaito."

"You're the one making it a big deal with your dirty mind, Ran," Kaito snickered. "I'm just eating a banana." With that he gave the fruit a long lick.

"Very suggestively," Shinichi grumbled, eyeing Kaito hungrily.

Saguru tried not to look, but he didn't succeed.

"Do we have any peaches?" Kaito smiled innocently at Ran.

She playfully tossed a protein bar at him, hitting his shoulder.

"Kaito, if you're naughty, I'm going to send you to bed without supper," Shinichi warned with a challenging smirk.

"I'm game if I still get dessert," Kaito hummed, not backing down. "How naughty do I have to be?"

"Stop undressing each other with your eyes at the table. We have a guest," Ran reminded. "And he's never going to come visit again at this rate."

Kaito's smug grin turned bashful as he smiled contritely at Saguru. "Sorry, Hakuba. I'll try to tone it down a bit. _Try_ being the operative word."

"Oh. N-No. It's…it's fine," Saguru assured, trying not to stare as Kaito took a bite of the banana.

"Obviously, it's not, if you get all flustered like that over it," Kaito insisted with a gentle smile. "Again, sorry for making you uncomfortable. …But why don't you eat something? Even if you don't feel hungry, you need to give your body some fuel." Not thinking clearly, he held out the banana. "Wanna bite? They're full of nutrients and easily digestible."

Saguru blinked, at first wondering if he was so tired he'd begun to hallucinate. When the banana remained after he'd checked twice more, Saguru timidly leaned forward, closing his eyes as he took a bite of the proffered fruit.

Ran couldn't stop herself from cracking up. "S-Sorry," she immediately apologized, even though she was still tittering. "You two are just so cute. You remind me of kindergartners sharing snacks."

Saguru hastily pulled back like he'd been burned, blushing as crimson as the apples in the bowl in front of him.

"There are other bananas, you know," Shinichi helpfully reminded, trying to hold in his annoyance at the little scene. "He doesn't have to share yours, Kai."

"I guess not," Kaito laughed heartily. "Sorry. I must be more tired than I thought. I'm not thinking straight."

"Well, hurry up and eat so that we can get to bed, then," Shinichi urged, reigning in his irritability and replacing it with a tender tone of voice.

"Oh yeah," Ran interjected. "Where are we going to have Saguru-kun sleep tonight? Kaito's room is probably the most comfortable. We haven't tidied up the spare in a long time."

"Won't it be kind of…" Kaito searched for a delicate term out of consideration for his friend. "Loud?" he decided. "My room is right next to the master, and the walls aren't too thick, so…"

"I don't mind," Saguru jumped in to assure. "I'll sleep in the spare. I wouldn't want to take your room from you, Kuroba."

Kaito bit his lip. "Well…you wouldn't be taking it from me, as I'm not planning on sleeping in there tonight, but…I'll be in the master with Ran and Shinichi. 'My room' is where I retreat when she steals the covers and he takes up half the bed at night. I doubt I'll need it tonight, though. I'm probably going to sleep like a man in a coma after all I've been through today, so you're more than welcome to use my room for the night. If we get too loud, though, feel free to move down the hall to the spare room. It's a little farther away, so the noise pollution shouldn't be as bad."

"O-Oh," Saguru stuttered as his brain finally processed Kaito's meaning. Blushing, he averted his eyes and nodded. "Yes. Thank you. I'll be sure to move to the spare room if…"

"Awesome," Kaito quickly put an end to that discussion. "Let's talk about the latest season of Sherlock and how it aligned with and differed from canon!"

Ran groaned as both Shinichi and Saguru's ears pricked up. "If we must," she reluctantly acquiesced, knowing that Kaito had only brought the subject up to clear the air of any awkwardness and to smooth things over between Shinichi and Saguru.

Kaito didn't have much to contribute to the ensuing passionate discussion, but he inserted remarks here and there. About halfway through, he moved his chair over next to Ran, letting the two detectives geek out together while he quietly started a side conversation with her about the book she was reading.

They stayed up for another half hour chatting before Ran decided it was time to call it a night. She and Shinichi stayed in the kitchen to clean up while Kaito gave Saguru the not-so-grand tour of the small house, showing him the shower, the laundry, and the bedrooms.

"And if you need anything else…" Kaito paused. "Well, I'd say feel free to disturb us, but that might be a little awkward. I'll give you Shinichi's number to text." Kaito reached out and took Saguru's hand, tracing the numbers on the detective's palm.

Kaito looked up at the blushing Saguru and grinned. "Got that?"

"O-Of course," Saguru stuttered, thinking that the movements of Kaito's finger would forever be burned into his flesh. "But I don't have a phone to text you with."

Kaito shrugged, releasing Saguru's hand. "I'll grab you a burner from our supply. …You know, I noticed earlier when you took a bite of the banana, but you have really pretty eyelashes."

Saguru's heart leapt, and his face exploded in a vibrant vermilion. All that escaped his throat was a small, strangled noise.

Not noticing, Kaito continued, demanding, "Is that natural? I wish I had eyelashes like that. Geez. I have to curl mine and use mascara to make them look that full and long. Do you just roll out of bed like that?"

"Y-Yes," Saguru croaked, fighting back the strong urge to study himself in a mirror to ascertain whether or not Kaito was just teasing him. He'd never really taken note of his eyelashes.

"Not fair," Kaito whined just as Shinichi and Ran came around the corner.

Shinichi raised an eyebrow when he observed the scarlet hue dominating the blonde's complexion. "Kaito, what have you been doing to Hakuba?"

"Nothing!" Kaito insisted. "I was just complimenting him. He has pretty eyelashes."

Ran covered her mouth, trying to stifle a snicker.

Shinichi frowned, the amicability he'd begun to feel towards the other detective vanishing. "Don't look at other men's eyelashes."

"It's not like I did it on purpose," Kaito chuckled. "I don't have an eyelash fetish or anything, so there's no need to get jealous, Shin-chan. I'm not going to leave you for Hakuba's eyelashes."

Saguru's blush grew darker as Shinichi's face turned red for another reason entirely.

Shinichi grabbed Kaito by the wrist, pulling him away from Saguru. "That's not something you should joke about. Now, come on. Let's go to bed."

"Hold up," Kaito protested, tugging his arm free. "I said I would get Hakuba a burner phone so he could text us if he needs anything during the night."

Shinichi pursed his lips, quickly losing patience. Nevertheless, he held in his temper and anxiety and nodded. "Okay, but _hurry up_ , Kai."

Kaito's eyes widened at the desperate need in his fiancé's voice. For the first time it occurred to him that maybe Shinichi's temper that whole evening could be attributed to the fact that he just wanted to hold his mates and cover them in kisses and tell them how scared he had been that whole day, how terrified he had been that he'd lost them for good.

Kaito smiled gently, reaching out to tussle Shinichi's hair. "Give me just a sec, Honey, and then I'm all yours." With a wink, he went to fetch the promised phone.

That accomplished, the quartet said their goodnights in the hall and retired to their respective rooms, leaving Saguru alone for the first time since their abduction.

His hands shook as he closed the door to Kaito's room behind him, and, slowly, all the stress from that day slammed into him like a landslide. Saguru sank to the floor, his back against the solid wood of the door, and he began to tremble.

Kaito's voice echoed in his thoughts, _"Breathe in: one, two, three. Breathe out: one, two, three."_

He remembered the warmth of Kaito's hands on his face, the calming reassurance in the magician's eyes.

Saguru let his eyes slip closed as he focused on Kaito and everything he had said that day: Saguru wasn't weak. Kaito cared about him, even if his parents didn't. Kaito liked him the way he was. It was okay. Saguru didn't have to be perfect. Kaito valued him as a friend. Kaito counted on Saguru. Saguru was needed and wanted and loved.

"One, two, three," Saguru whispered along with the Kaito in his memory.

He could almost see Kaito smiling. _"Shh. It's okay. You're okay."_

He wanted to reach out and cup Kaito's cheek and tell him, "You're okay too. Even though she rejected you. Even though something happened between you and your father who's somehow still alive. Even though you don't think Kudo-kun really loves you. You're okay too because at least you matter to me. _I_ at least need you. _I_ at least…"

Saguru opened his eyes, and the image of Kaito vanished. He took a deep breath and swallowed hard. He shook his head and admitted, "…like you _very_ much."

His mind helpfully dredged up the memory of Shinichi holding Kaito in the living room, their bodies flush together as their lips melded, hands grasped desperately.

There was no room in between them. Saguru couldn't fit.

With a sigh, he got to his feet, grabbing the towel Kaito had given him and heading for the shower. He stood under the hot spray, letting it pelt him for more than twenty minutes as he wondered to himself when this all had happened. When had Kuroba Kaito happened? Was this something that had always been lurking under the surface since the high school days when Saguru obsessively studied and stalked the other teen, or were these desires something that had been born out of the crisis of that day?

Yes, KID had always sent a bit of a thrill through him, and Kuroba had been an enthralling rival. He'd always thought them physically attractive, but had this aching longing he was now experiencing really been in the making this whole time, or was he confusing the adrenaline rush and light-headedness caused by their capture and escape for romantic feelings and attributing them to Kuroba?

Saguru shut off the water and reached for the towel.

Did it matter when he couldn't have Kuroba anyway?

" _Probably not,"_ Saguru decided, closing his eyes and pulling up the image of Kaito's smiling face, his kind eyes as he told Saguru that he liked Saguru just the way he was.

It didn't matter if he had unknowingly harbored a crush on Kaito since high school or if these feelings were just born today as the result of crisis intimacy. Saguru liked the warm, heady feeling he got when he recalled Kaito's smile. He liked the way his stomach flipped and his heart skipped when he replayed Kaito's words in his mind.

Even if it was just a wild fantasy, feelings that would never be requited and come to fruition, and even though Kaito was Shinichi's, Saguru treasured his infatuation with Kaito. Clinging to the kind and gentle Kaito in his memories and imagination gave Saguru strength. His love for Kaito made Saguru feel less alone.

…

Saguru slipped back into Kaito's room and actually looked at it for the first time. It didn't really feel like the Kuroba he'd come to know, and he was certain he couldn't have picked this room out of a lineup as belonging to his crush. The décor was plain and yet tasteful—probably the work of Ran. There was nothing personal to mark it as Kaito's; it was just a room that Kaito had happened to sleep in before.

Feeling a little disappointed, Saguru went over to the Western-style bed and, pulling back the covers, climbed in. He had wondered if the bedding would smell like Kaito—that faintly sweet scent he had detected when he'd rested his head on Kaito's shoulder on the train—but the only thing Saguru could perceive was the clean smell of cotton linen, freshly washed.

There were no traces of Kuroba in this room, so even though Saguru was sleeping in a bed where Kaito had once lain, he didn't feel any closer to Kaito than he had before. The sheets were clean and cold and lifeless.

Just as Saguru was about to drift off to sleep, the hushed whispers of serious discussion coming from the master bedroom next-door turned to playful giggles. Saguru rolled over on his side with his back to the wall and tried not to hear the sighs and the groans and the moans of "Shinichi", "Kaito", and "Ran" that followed.

He sighed and gave up when it became apparent that his neighbors would only be getting louder as the night drew on. He was just about to get up and go to the spare room when he clearly heard Kaito's laugh. Saguru froze and listened, focusing on Kaito's voice.

He wondered what kind of face Kaito was making. He had the idea it was probably some kind of devious smirk. The eyes were most likely feral and reminiscent of KID when the fire of the heist was in him. It was a hungry, wolfish expression, high on the exhilaration of the chase and challenging the detectives to come take him if they could.

The predatory laugh changed into a playful one, like young children at recess giggling in delight. Kaito purred docilely and almost sang his lover's name.

Saguru frowned as he added the vocal sample to his memory bank. He closed his eyes and tried substituting his own name for the other detective's. It gave him goosebumps of pleasure, but at the same time it felt dirty and wrong, like he was defiling his friend and abusing the trust that the threesome had placed in him, allowing him into their family life.

" _Is it really so vile of me?"_ he wondered, pulling the extra pillow close to his chest. _"Isn't it normal to want to join your body to another's? Isn't it only human to want to be close, to feel the warmth of another's body? Is lust really so wrong?"_

Kaito moaned again, and Saguru tried to picture him there in the bed beside him—in place of the pillow…with his arms around Saguru's neck and one leg hooked up around Saguru's hip. Kaito's eyes were filled with the same wild excitement Saguru often saw in KID's, only that passion was directed solely at Saguru.

In the next room, Kaito's voice broke on the "chi" of his fiancé's name, and Saguru's fantasy went to pieces with it.

" _There_ ," he rebuked himself. _"See? How do you think you're going to steal him away from someone who undoes him like_ that _? Do you imagine you can compete with Kudo-kun? What do you think you have to offer Kuroba that_ he _doesn't? You're only fooling yourself, giving in to these ridiculous delusions."_

Saguru sighed, rolling onto his other side and staring at the wall. He could have gone to the spare room and tried to get some sleep, but, instead, as a punishment for his insolence, he forced himself to stay and listen to the zealous lovemaking in the next room so that he would never forget his place and dare to make eyes at Kaito again.

" _There's no one out there that could love you like that,"_ his mind helpfully informed him.

Tears came, and he squeezed his eyes closed.

" _It's okay,"_ the imaginary Kaito cooed. _"You're kind of awesome. I like you just the way you are. You have pretty eyelashes. You saved me by just existing,"_ the Kaito in his memories whispered soothingly, smiling that kind grin that made Saguru believe that Kuroba really did care about him.

Saguru clung to that smile again until the ruckus in the next room dissipated into soft pillow talk and he was finally able to succumb to sleep with Kaito and his benevolent grin accompanying him.

In a dream, the magician sat down on the bed next to Saguru and wiped away the tears that had softly been trickling down the detective's cheeks.

"I need you," dream Kaito reminded him, curling up under the covers at his side in a companionable manner like young siblings sharing a bed.

"But you're in there," Saguru's unconscious mind argued. "…with the man you love."

"Maybe." The product of Saguru's subconscious shrugged, resting his head against Saguru's shoulder. "But that doesn't mean I don't need you. I'm happy now, but how long will the endorphins last? How long until I'm lonely and doubt his love for me again?"Kaito looked up expectantly at Saguru, his indigo eyes glimmering in the moonlight peeking in through the blinds. "Didn't you promise me you'd be there to listen to me complain about my boyfriend even at three in the morning?"

"I did," Saguru affirmed. "I will. Whenever you need me."

"Then don't get so depressed, thinking you don't matter and no one loves you. Because that's not true, Saguru,"Kaito demanded. "I can be in love with Shinichi and still have room in my heart to care for you too."

"That's not exactly why I'm upset," Saguru replied awkwardly.

"Because you want to sleep with me?" Kaito unflinchingly inquired.

Saguru gave a start. "What?! No! I mean…" He bit his lip. "Not yet. I don't want…I would never want to have a fling with you."

"You want to romance me." Kaito smirked, but not unkindly. "And get my parents' permission and all that because you're an old-fashioned gentleman."

"Is that wrong?" Saguru wondered, feeling his cheeks burn.

In the dream, Kaito shook his head and gave Saguru one of those comforting smiles. "On the contrary, it's one of the things I like best about you. …So tell me why you're upset."

"Because I want to court you, but you're already spoken for. There's no way I could get between you and Kudo-kun, and even if there were, I wouldn't feel right doing so. I want you to love me as wholly as you do him, but I know I can't have your love, and that hurts, especially since you seem insecure and unhappy at times with Kudo-kun and Ran-san. I'm conflicted, and the yearning I'm starting to feel for you pains me so much."

Kaito nodded, accepting Saguru's confession. "Are you ever going to tell me that? I mean, in real life?"

Saguru shook his head remorsefully.

"Then you're going to keep suffering," Kaito sighed. "Why won't you say something?"

"Because you're not interested in me like that. You care for me, but it's not the same thing, and I could never take Kudo-kun's place in your heart. If I told you how I felt, it would only make things awkward and hard for you. Why should I bring it up?"

"Because friends tell one another when they're hurting," Kaito insisted, leveling a serious, disapproving expression at Saguru.

Saguru gave the reconstruction of his friend a melancholy smile. "Yes, but friends don't hurt one another and lay baggage on each other's shoulders."

Kaito returned the smile with a knowing grin of his own. "But friends take burdens from one another. Why shouldn't I help you carry yours?"

"I love you, and I want you to be happy." Saguru's smile spread until there was some genuine mirth in it. "Everything we've been through together today has made me realize that."

"Okay, but you shouldn't have to go through all this on your own," Kaito pouted, an almost perfect replica of the genuine article.

"But I'm not alone," Saguru responded promptly. "You're here with me, even though you don't know it. Even though you're in the next room in the arms of the man you love, you're with me in spirit. I can call up your voice, your words, at will. I can imagine your smile and remember the look in your eyes. If I can save you just by existing, you can do the same for me."

"I feel like this is different," Kaito hummed. "Not healthy."

"It's better than before when I felt completely alone," Saguru argued.

Kaito pursed his lips.

Saguru smiled facetiously.

"What am I going to do with you?" Kaito sighed.

"Be my friend?" Saguru suggested.

Kaito held Saguru's gaze for nearly ten whole seconds before giving up and shaking his head. "Fine…." He looked at Saguru expectantly, seemingly waiting for something. "…You're not even going to take advantage of this dream to kiss me, are you?"

"N-No," Saguru stumbled over the word as his face flushed. "That indirect kiss today when I took a bite of the banana you had been eating was more than enough. I believe I used up all of my luck and nerve for the year. Besides, your fiancé looked like he wanted to kill me."

"Fine," Kaito repeated with a hint of defiance. He leaned in and planted a kiss right on Saguru's cheek. "But there's such a thing as being too stringent when you won't even let yourself get carried away with the product of your unconscious mind."

Saguru made a noncommittal noise as he settled back down under the covers, carefully avoiding Kaito's gaze.

"But I like that you've got principles and you stick to them," the dream Kaito echoed his real life counterpart's words of earlier that evening. "I respect you for that…. Just try not to torture yourself to death keeping it up, okay?"

As Saguru slipped into a deeper level of sleep, the words, "You're a good guy, and I like who you are" resounded in his mind.

When he awoke, it was already late into the morning, and the tears he'd shed during the night still made their presence known in the form of salty tracks down his cheeks. With a sigh, Saguru got up to face the new day as well as the trio of lovers he could never dream of breaking apart.

…...

Mikau: So I was really surprised at the support for the foursome idea. I'm actually kind of glad. I'm not really militant about pairings since I support pretty much anything that you can provide a decent reason why they're together for, but I know some people who insist that Kaito only belongs with Shinichi or Shinichi can only be with Ran. ^.^; Anyway. It won't be a true foursome because I don't plan on Shinichi and Ran getting involved with Hakuba romantically, but it's safe to say that Hakuba's not going to be lonely and angsty forever. I hope you enjoyed this chapter, and I look forward to seeing you again next week!


	10. Fight

Mikau: Hi everyone. I'm tired. I didn't get to write much this week because everything was so busy, but I did manage to get this chapter edited, so…I hope you enjoy it. Thanks much to reviewers from last chapter: Opal Spirit, Lady Lily Anne, and Fireflower19.

Disclaimer: If I owned it, there would be more relationship drama and honest conversation between couples.

…...

Chapter Ten: Fight

Saguru listened for sounds of the others stirring about the house. Detecting none, he slowly opened the bedroom door and gingerly stepped out into the hall, intending to head for the kitchen to obtain some semblance of breakfast. Unsure of how soundly Kaito, Shinichi, and Ran slept and not wanting to disturb his hosts, Saguru attempted to close his door and make his way to the kitchen with the utmost stealth.

Unfortunately, Kaito (who had been sleeping on the couch in the great room not ten feet away) was still on high alert even in his sleep after their ordeal with the Organization scant hours before and thus gave a start as Saguru pushed the door to.

Saguru (who had believed Kaito to be asleep in the master bedroom with the others) jumped about a foot off the ground at the sudden appearance of his friend in an unexpected location.

Kaito was the first to regain his composure and laugh off the incident. "Sorry, Hakuba. I didn't mean to spook you."

"I could say the same," Saguru chuckled weakly, heart still beating in his ears. "But what are you doing out here on the couch? Why aren't you with Kudo-kun and Ran-san?"

Kaito shrugged, motioning Saguru over to sit down beside him.

The cushion was still warm where Kaito had been sleeping, giving Saguru goosebumps.

"I bowed out about halfway through the night," Kaito recounted disinterestedly. "Ran and Shinichi need their couple's time, even if they'd never say so. That's why I have a room to myself. I didn't think I would use it last night, but Ran and Shinichi started cuddling and talking couple's talk, and I felt like a bit of a third wheel, so I told them I wanted to shower and afterwards came out here to sleep."

"Why didn't you use the spare room?" Saguru wondered.

"I didn't want to bother you in case you were in there. We were really loud last night, so…" Kaito winced. "Did we bother you? Sorry if we made you feel uncomfortable."

Saguru smiled wryly. "It's all right. I begin to realize that I'll have to come to terms with my feelings of discomfort and awkwardness if I'm to continue to be in your acquaintance."

Kaito grimaced again. "Sorry, Hakuba."

"Don't be. You're in an enthusiastically loving relationship," Saguru assured, actually able to mean it.

Kaito's face didn't brighten like Saguru had expected, and this caused him to frown. "…Are you unhappy, Kuroba?"

"N-No," Kaito quickly denied, waving his hands.

"And yet you seem insecure and unhappy concerning the relationship most of the time," Saguru gently pressed. "At least judging by some of the things you said yesterday and the way you acted last night when Kudo-kun arrived."

Kaito shook his head once more. "No. I…" He looked away, gazing at the fringe on the area rug. "…I'm happy," he replied softly with a cloudy expression and a subdued tone of voice. "I should be happy. I mean, I'm lucky. Shinichi does love me, even if it's not exactly the same way he loves Ran. They've accepted me and allowed me into their lives, and, really, at this point, isn't that the best I can hope for? I'm never going to be his most important person. Even if something—God forbid—should happen to Ran, his memory of her would still be dearer to him than the Kaito standing right in front of him." Kaito chuckled bitterly. "It's my own fault I'm dissatisfied. I should settle for being happy enough, but I'm too greedy for my own good."

"Why should you settle?" Saguru wondered, his own feathers a little ruffled on Kaito's behalf.

Kaito looked up and raised an eyebrow at him. "What else is there for me to do? I can either keep making myself miserable wanting things I can't have or decide to be happy with everything I am lucky enough to possess. Some people have it a lot worse than I do, you know."

"I do know." Saguru smiled sadly as he gazed into those pretty tanzanite gems. "Is it true that what you want is for someone to love you more than anything or anyone else?"

A crease formed in Kaito's brow. "Yes? But—"

"—Then why do you stay in a relationship where you know that's not possible?" Saguru interposed.

"The alternative is to be alone," Kaito replied quietly, coolly.

"Do you not believe that anyone else is capable of loving you either?" Saguru hummed.

"Sometimes." Kaito shrugged, looking down at the floral centerpiece on the coffee table in front of them. "I don't think the kind of slavish devotion I'm looking for exists in real life, and if it does, it's probably not healthy. It wouldn't last long, anyway, not with how demanding and needy I am. I'm surprised Shinichi has put up with me for as many years as he has. Besides, it would be too painful to break things off with Shinichi and Ran at this point. They are my family, and I love them so much it hurts. I couldn't imagine being without them, even though it's painful sometimes to feel like the spare tire in this relationship. I don't want to go through all that again. Once with Aoko was enough. I can't deal with the fallout. And that's not even taking into account the process of finding someone new and falling in love again. Falling in love is like cutting out a piece of your heart or lobbing off a finger. I don't think I could survive it a third time, so…"

Kaito looked back up at Saguru and put on a brave smile. "At this point, I'm going to hedge my bets and learn to be happy with what I have. I think I'll suffer less in the long run that way."

"If you change your mind, I'll be there for you," Saguru reminded. "I'll be there for you either way."

"Even in the dead of night." Kaito grinned impishly, giving Saguru the thumbs up. "Yeah, I remember. Thanks, Haku-chan."

Saguru blushed. "'Ha-Haku-chan'?"

"Yeah," Kaito snickered, giving Saguru a playful nudge. "Best friends call one another by nicknames."

"I think 'Haku-chan' is cute," Ran giggled from where she had been standing in the doorway to the master bedroom.

Kaito and Saguru jumped.

Ran grimaced. "Sorry. I didn't mean to sneak up on you."

"Quite all right," Saguru assured as Kaito got up to go over to his mate and give her cheek an affectionate nuzzle.

"Morning, Ran." He pulled back and smiled guiltily. "So…you heard all that?"

"Enough of it." She leveled a serious expression at Kaito as she took him by the cheeks and made him face her.

"Shinichi?" Kaito inquired anxiously, holding his breath in hopes that that would retroactively keep his fiancé from hearing everything he'd just said.

"Still out cold," Ran confirmed. "And I won't mention it to him, but, Kaito, my poor, dear, beloved Kaito…you can't keep going on feeling like this. It's not good for you or either of us."

Kaito dropped his gaze despite Ran's hands keeping him facing her. "I'm sorry. I—"

"—No," Ran stopped his apology in its tracks. "Don't be sorry; be proactive. Talk to me," she insisted. "Talk to _Saguru-kun_. Kaito, I love you like a brother, and I can't stand knowing that you're hurting like this. I want you to be genuinely happy and not just happy enough. How can I help you? What can we do to make you feel more secure?"

Kaito shook his head. "Keep being kind and compassionate and tolerating my mood swings."

"Okay," Ran softly agreed, leaning in to kiss her partner's cheek. "And never hesitate to let me know if you think of anything else. I'm sure Saguru-kun feels the same way."

"Absolutely," Saguru chimed in, rising to his feet and coming to stand close but still at a respectable distance to give the pair their space. "Anything at all."

"See?" Ran chuckled. "What a good friend you have, Kaito. You'll never be alone so long as he's here."

"Yeah, he's pretty awesome," Kaito choked on tears as he wrapped his arms around Ran, resting his head on her shoulder and smiling into her neck. "And I've got you too, don't I? Even if things fall through with Shinichi?"

"Of course you do," she whispered, making calming shushing sounds and running a hand through his hair. "That's never going to happen. Shinichi loves you too much to let you go, even if you tried to leave him, but…yes. You'll always have me."

"And Baby too," Saguru added, tentatively reaching out to rest a hand between Kaito's shoulder blades. "There are at least three people in this world whose love you can count on, even when you're feeling insecure about Kudo-kun. Don't forget that, Kuroba."

Kaito nodded, raising his head. Somewhere between a laugh and a hiccup he got out, "Okay. Thanks, guys. I don't know what I'd do without you."

Ran smiled knowingly, patting Kaito on the back as she let him go. "Let's hope we never have to find out."

"Agreed," Saguru heartily seconded.

"Now how about I make you chocolate chip pancakes?" Ran suggested, quickly turning the tide and the tone of the conversation.

"You have the ingredients?" Kaito's face lit up like a child's.

Ran smirked. "I did say I picked up the basics from the store last night, didn't I? Eggs, milk, bread…chocolate chips, chocolate syrup, double chocolate fudge brownie mix…"

"Ran, have I ever told you how much I love you?" Kaito trilled, placing a big smooch on his partner's cheek. "Let's forget Shinichi and elope."

Ran waved him away, shaking her head as she led the way to the kitchen. "You'd get bored of me and start to miss him in a week tops. What can I get you for breakfast, Saguru-kun? Do you typically eat a western breakfast or…what would you like?"

"You needn't go to any trouble on my account," Saguru assured, falling in step behind the true head of the little threesome family. "Just toast and eggs with some of the fruit from last night will be more than enough."

"It's no trouble at all," Ran insisted. "You just let me know if you change your mind. I'll be mad if you're not honest with me."

"I'll keep that in mind," Saguru laughed nervously.

…

About twenty minutes later, breakfast was well underway, and Saguru was pleased to find that his impressions of the night before of the kitchen as a place where Kaito and Ran would playfully cook and tidy up together had proven true. The duo seemed to have a blast, working in tandem to accomplish a wonderful little breakfast out of the limited ingredients they had to work with.

Saguru blushed as Kaito set down his plate before him with a wink, announcing, "Sorry to have kept you waiting, Master," like they did in the maid cafés. "Would Master like for me to write a special message on Master's omelet?"

"Kaito, I think they only do that for omuraisu," Ran snickered, trying to hold in how thoroughly amused she was by her partner's antics.

"Well, _I_ go the extra step for my customers," Kaito preened. "I'll write a special message on whatever my master desires." So declaring, Kaito turned back to Saguru, and, with his finger, traced "Chu~! 3" on Saguru's cheek.

Red-faced and light-headed, Saguru protested, "Kuroba, your fiancé is going to murder me, and he's well enough versed in every possible way of accomplishing it that he'll easily get away with it!"

"What am I murdering you for?" Shinichi raised an eyebrow as he rounded the corner and caught the tail end of the conversation.

Saguru froze, his entire face draining of color.

"Because I'm an inveterate flirt," Kaito cheerily volunteered.

"He's just having fun making poor Saguru-kun's face turn varying shades of pink," Ran added to dispel the possible misunderstandings that could arise. "Coffee should be just about ready, Shinichi."

Shinichi's brow furrowed as he eyed the blonde suspiciously, but then he turned his gaze on Kaito, and the concerned expression turned pouty. "You." He pointed at the magician as if he were a suspect being singled out during a deduction show. "You didn't come back last night after you snuck off to take a shower in the middle of snuggle time. I'm mad at you," Shinichi insisted, sounding much more sullen than angry. "What gives? Did you steal away to go fraternize with Mister Pretty Eyelashes or something?"

Saguru nearly had a heart attack.

"He was being considerate, sleeping on the couch so that you and I could have some alone time," Ran informed. "Please tell him he's an idiot on my behalf."

Kaito tensed as Shinichi strode across the room and grabbed him by the collar.

"You're an idiot," Shinichi reported. "But I love you, so don't do stuff like that anymore."

Before Kaito could offer a single word in his own defense, Shinichi pulled him close, covering his lips with his own.

Conflicted, Saguru tried to focus on his breakfast, but he couldn't keep himself from sneaking looks at the couple, a twinge of longing and heartache in his eyes.

Ran noticed.

"Your pancakes are ready, Kaito, and I've got toast and eggs for you, Shinichi, just as soon as you finish sucking on Kaito's tonsils," Ran reported in a chipper tone, balancing both of their plates as well as her own as she brought them to the table and placed them in the proper positions.

Saguru rose to his feet, pulling the chair out for Ran.

"Thank you, Saguru-kun." Ran beamed, enjoying the attention. "You're so thoughtful!"

"Uh-oh," Kaito hummed blissfully as Shinichi finally released him. "Haku-chan is making us look bad. We'd better watch out or else she might leave us for him."

"He's 'Haku-chan' now, is he?" Shinichi observed with a tint of ire.

"Best get used to it," Ran informed in her no nonsense tone. "Saguru-kun is going to be Baby's Godfather."

Shinichi blinked. "What?"

"I-I couldn't possibly," Saguru sputtered. "Such an honor would be—"

"—Yeah!" Kaito chimed in, taking his seat. "Totally! Wouldn't that be perfect?"

"Right?" Ran purred, pleased with herself. "It would only be right."

"What the hell happened yesterday?" Shinichi wondered aloud as he went over to get that day's first mug of coffee.

The rest of the meal proceeded in a friendly, amicable manner with Ran and Kaito primarily carrying the conversation. Saguru was content to listen and make the odd remark while Shinichi remained strangely aloof, distracted by his own thoughts.

After Kaito and Saguru had taken their turn cleaning up, the company retired to the living room to discuss what they would do next.

The trio curled up on the couch together with Shinichi in the middle, his arms stretched along the back of the couch, loosely draped around both of his mates. Ran sat on his far side, leaning slightly into him with her head inclined towards his. Kaito made himself comfy to Shinichi's right, his head resting ever so naturally on Shinichi's shoulder.

Saguru took the armchair on Kaito's side, thinking that the three truly looked beautiful together. They fit. They belonged.

" _And there really is no room for you in that picture unless you want to sit at Kuroba's feet and dare to rest your head against his knee."_

"Have you had a chance to consider what you're going to do next, Hakuba?" Shinichi addressed the blonde, jerking Saguru out of his thoughts.

"I think, after hearing from Kuroba about how serious this Organization matter is, it would be best if I returned to England for a year or so," Saguru replied after considering carefully for a moment.

Kaito's eyes widened, and Ran frowned, but Shinichi nodded.

"But don't you want to help?" Kaito asked in the utmost amazement. "Now that you know what's going on, don't you…?"

"I'm afraid I would only be in the way," Saguru answered sadly. "I'm a very competent detective in all matters not involving the capture of a certain thief, but I wouldn't dream to put myself on the same level as Kudo-kun. Any help I could offer would be minimal, and I'd be running quite the risk of being captured and used against my father again. I think the best place for me during this battle is in England, out of the way and doing my best to prevent smaller crimes and bring everyday murderers and crooks to justice."

"Haku-chan…" Kaito mumbled, brow creasing in displeasure.

"I think you're selling yourself short. You're capable of more than you give yourself credit for, but it's your decision, Saguru-kun," Ran hummed, making her opinion known without dissenting outright.

"I wish you'd stay with us," Kaito added, not bothering to mask his disappointment.

"I think Hakuba is making the right decision for himself," Shinichi declared. "We shouldn't pressure him."

Kaito gave a half-hearted snort, sitting up straight and turning his attention to his fiancé. "And what's our next move? What happened yesterday? Amuro made it sound like something serious was going down, but…where are we at the moment in respect to the original plan? Are we still on schedule to start the raids in a few months, or…?"

"The raids have already started," Shinichi informed, his face carefully blank.

Kaito's mouth fell open into a soft 'O' shape. "So…what's our next move? Where do you need me?"

Shinichi pursed his lips, took a deep breath, and reluctantly looked Kaito in the eye. "England."

Kaito blinked, not comprehending. "England. What's going on in England?"

Shinichi didn't respond and instead turned to Saguru, gazing at the blonde intently. "Can you take my family with you? Can you take Kaito and Ran and Baby? It's not safe here, and what happened yesterday can _ **not**_ happen again."

Saguru's eyes widened as he realized what Shinichi was asking of him. He nodded resolutely. "Yes. Yes, Kudo-kun. They can come with me. They'll be safe in the countryside at one of my family's villas. I'll see to it."

Though Saguru was wondering how on earth he was going to protect Kaito and Ran and the baby when he couldn't even defend himself against a few Organization thugs.

Shinichi's eyes finally softened as he bowed his appreciation to the blonde. "Thank you. I owe you, Hakuba."

"Wait," Kaito interjected, still puzzled. "I'm going to England…to help Ran get settled in? Why? She's more than capable of taking care of herself. She's not needy like I am, so having Hakuba with her should be more than enough. I'm not telling you how to run your operation, but wouldn't I be more useful here, especially if things are going down ahead of schedule?"

Shinichi bit his lip as he turned to his beloved, pity in his eyes. "Kai? I need to know that you're somewhere safe."

Kaito's head tilted to the side. "Shinichi, what are you saying?"

Shinichi reached out and gently took hold of Kaito's wrist, feeling the reassuring thrum of Kaito's pulse there. "Kai, I need you to go to England with Hakuba and sit tight until this all blows over."

Kaito pulled back, standing and shaking his head in disbelief. "You're sidelining me?" He began to pace like a tiger at the zoo. "You can't. You need me. I'm the freaking Kaitou KID. You _need_ me."

"I need you _safe_ ," Shinichi stressed even as his heart broke for what he was doing to Kaito.

"I wonder if anyone was going to ask my opinion in this matter," Ran snorted as she folded her arms and switched the cross of her legs.

"Ran, please don't make this more difficult," Shinichi hissed, unable to take opposition from both sides.

"I'm not," she retorted. "I'm fine with going to England. I'll gladly go. I know I'm only going to get more pregnant over the next few months, so there will be even less I can do, and it's not like I'm doing much now. I, for one, don't want to put my baby at risk again, so I can accept your decision to send me somewhere safe. What I can't accept is you trying to clip Kaito's wings and stuff him in a nice, safe cage along with me."

"Shinichi, I'm more useful here," Kaito insisted, trying once more to change his fiancé's mind.

Shinichi stood and hardened his heart to Kaito's pleas, pronouncing, "You're a liability."

Kaito stared in stunned silence as the words cut through him like bullets.

"Shinichi," Ran gasped, surprised at her mate's cruelty.

"Kaito, I am playing a high-stakes chess match here where I can't afford to misstep. Hundreds and thousands of lives across the world depend on my success, so mistakes are unforgiveable," Shinichi explained, giving them a hint at how much pressure he'd been under these past few years. "You, Kaito, you and Ran are my king. If I lose you two, it's over for me. Now do you understand why I have to protect you at all costs?"

"I don't need you to protect me," Kaito argued. "I can take care of myself."

"Obviously you can't, otherwise we wouldn't be having this conversation," Shinichi retorted, taking the low blow.

"Shinichi!" Ran shrieked, getting to her feet and taking her fiancé by the arm. "Don't you dare talk to him like that! What in the world has gotten into you?! You're never like this."

Shinichi turned to Ran and seethed, "Do you know how many people I got killed yesterday? People with families and loved ones. Good men and women who believed in me and trusted in me. Because I was out of my mind, thinking I'd lost you two. I killed Gin—one of the best leads we could have ever hoped to get our hands on—all because he made some crack about sending your bodies home to me. I snapped, and who knows what else I would have done if Amuro hadn't called me just then to tell me you'd been found. Kaito, Ran…I _can't_ lose control like that again. Too much is riding on all of this."

"Oh, Shinichi," Ran breathed, wrapping her arms around him and pressing gentle kisses to his neck through her tears. "Oh, my darling. What hell you must have been through."

Kaito penitently sank back down on the couch, and Shinichi and Ran followed suit, though Kaito didn't join in on the group hug.

"I'm sorry," Kaito whispered. "It's my fault. If I had just—"

Shinichi reached out and placed his hand on Kaito's knee. "—Hush, Love. Nothing is your fault. I would never shove the blame onto you, and you have to believe that you did everything you could to the best of your ability at the time. I'm sorry for what I said. It wasn't fair of me, and I feel horrible for trying to coerce you like that. I just need you to understand why it's so imperative that you go where I know you'll be safe for my peace of mind. I love you two like crazy, so much so that it impairs my judgment."

Kaito placed his hand on top of Shinichi's and mumbled, "I know you love her more. It's okay. I understand, but however impartial you pretend to be, I know you love Ran more than you love me, so why do I have to go too? Can't we just send Ran somewhere safe and let me stay? You can't possibly be so preoccupied with my safety that it would make a difference if I were here or there or wherever, so can't I just—"

"—No," Shinichi insisted. "Because you're dead wrong, Kaito. I've never accused you of loving me any less than you loved Aoko, have I?"

"No, of course not," Kaito responded promptly, confused as to why Shinichi was even bringing the subject up.

"Why 'of course not' in your case when you always insist in mine?" Shinichi challenged. "I never bring up your feelings for Aoko as an obstacle for your feelings for me, so why do you always argue that I can't love you because I love Ran?"

The wheels of Kaito's mind got stuck in the mud and spun for a minute before he was able to reply. "Because…Aoko is in my past, but the woman you love loves you in return, so…"

"So I'm not able to love you at the same time?" Shinichi pressed. "Is that what you think?"

Kaito pursed his lips.

"Is my heart so small that I can't love two people?" Shinichi demanded softly, forcing Kaito to think about it.

"…No?" Kaito hesitantly inquired.

"No," Shinichi confirmed with a gentle smile, squeezing Kaito's hand. "So, for better or worse, I love you. I worry about you constantly, and, at this stage of the game, I need you somewhere safe. In chess, you never leave your king unprotected, and sending you away to England is the only way I can see of protecting you, Kaito."

Kaito returned the squeeze, bowing his head as he muttered dejectedly, "I don't want to be your king. I liked it better when I was your queen. I want to be useful to you again. I want to show you that I'm worth keeping around because I can do anything. I want to support you, to be your trump card."

"We're past that," Shinichi informed kindly yet firmly.

"No," Kaito retorted, finding his fire once more. He pulled away, getting to his feet once more to passionately declare, "I won't let you send me away like this. Shinichi, I'll go nuts just sitting around in some peaceful villa while you and the gang are all out there fighting. I won't let you push me aside and box me up in some pretty prison. I'm not going anywhere, and you're out of your mind if you think you can forcibly sideline me. I'm not leaving you. I'm supposed to be fighting at your side, Shinichi. I'm not—"

"—KID," Shinichi beckoned, a commander getting ready to give orders to his subordinate.

Kaito's eyes widened in shock. A second later a deep hurt filled them before quickly giving way to a blinding rage. His eyes turned to slits, and he bared his teeth like a fox about to attack.

Body shaking, Kaito bit his tongue, and in KID's cool tone, he replied, "Meitantei?"

"I need you to go to England with Hakuba. Keep Ran and yourself safe, KID," Shinichi instructed like any commanding officer. "Do you understand?"

Kaito's poker face broke, and he exploded, shoving his fiancé. "That's _Kaito_ to you! I'm your lover, not your underling! It's different when we're on a mission, but how dare you try to pull rank on me in real life! You manipulative bastard! You can't order me around like that! If you really loved me, you'd take my feelings into account a little more!"

Shinichi held his ground, meeting Kaito's gaze and glaring back. "You're such a child at times, Kaito. Don't you understand how many lives are at stake? This is bigger than your bruised feelings or even my love for you. This is the endgame, and I need to have a clear head. You're a bigger liability than an asset right now. The good of this mission has to come before everything else. It has to be the most important thing. How can I make you understand that this isn't about you or me or any one single person?"

"Damn you and your f-ing case!" Kaito screamed, half-heartedly shoving Shinichi again as he bit back tears. "That's all it ever is with you! You're always running off and pushing Ran and me to the side. The case this. The case that. Tell me, Shinichi, is it all going to be worth it when after the case you come back and nobody's waiting for you? We love you, but we can only take so much."

Glaring, Shinichi grabbed Kaito by both wrists and pulled him in close. "Kaito, I don't care if you hate me in the end, so long as you're safe and alive to hate me. I'd snap if I lost you, and then the whole mission would suffer as a result. People would die just like they did yesterday, and that _can't_ happen, so you're just going to have to hold it together for a year or so in England. Don't you get that? I'm doing what's best for you."

"Why do you get to decide that?" Kaito barked back. "You don't know jack about what's good for me, you freaking jerk!"

"Stop," Ran decreed, getting to her feet and pulling them apart. "Stop fighting. No more words. Both of you, go back to the bedroom and figure this out with actions. Figure it out, make up, and then come back once you're sensible again and not a minute sooner, you hear me? I don't care if it takes two hours. Get it together."

With a noncommittal grumble from both parties, the thief and the detective marched proudly back to the bedroom with their heads held high. Kaito slammed the door behind them, and then it was quiet for a moment before the commotion started.

Saguru gave a start at the distinctive sound of a lamp toppling and breaking followed by the dresser it had been sitting on being bumped into and joining the lamp on the floor.

"Good heavens. Are they quite all right?" Saguru anxiously looked to Ran for answers.

"Ow!" Shinichi yelped from the bedroom.

Saguru's eyes widened, but Ran just shrugged, curling up on her side on the couch. "They'll be all right. They'll be a bundle of claw marks and bruises when they come out, but this is how Kaito and Shinichi sort things out when they fight."

Saguru nodded slowly, trying not to hear the ruckus going on behind the closed door. "Right." He cleared his throat awkwardly. "If you say so."

Ran smiled. "I do say so. It usually takes around an hour depending on how bad the fight was and how long they cuddle and talk afterwards. Since we have some time to kill, let's talk. There was something I wanted to chat with you about."

"And what would that be?" Saguru tipped his head to the side and frowned slightly.

Ran's smile transformed into a smirk. "Kaito."

…...

Mikau: Originally chapters ten, eleven, and twelve were supposed to be one thing, but… ^.^; Anyway. I hope you liked this chapter despite the angst and the tension. I mean, there were some sweet parts too, weren't there? But all that we have left is chapters eleven and twelve and then three omake chapters that will help resolve the residual loose ends and help things to end on a happy note. Let me know what you thought, and I hope to see you next week as well. Take care.


	11. Affirmation

Mikau: Hi all! Sorry the update is late. I forgot that I had an art history class on Saturdays starting yesterday. It's just for three weeks, but for next week and the week after that, updates are going to be on Sundays instead of Saturdays. Before we get started, I just want to thank those that reviewed last chapter: Opal Spirit, Lady Lily Anne, and Fireflower19. Thank you so much for your support everyone!

Disclaimer: If I owned it, my editor would be knocking down my door every deadline day. ^.^;

…...

Chapter Eleven: Affirmation

Saguru nearly jumped. "K-Kuroba? What about Kuroba? I mean…what did you need to talk about with me?"

Ran grinned fondly at the blonde. "You have a thing for Kaito, don't you?"

Saguru did jump that time, and his voice jumped an octave as he insisted, "N-No! Absolutely not!"

Ran laughed, shaking her head. "Calm down, Saguru-kun. It's not a bad thing."

"How is it not a bad thing when I have feelings for a man who's practically married with a baby on the way?" Saguru sighed, burying his face in his hands.

"Well, as you've just seen, we're not exactly a happy little perfect family. We can be really dysfunctional at times," Ran readily confessed.

"Still. A family is a family, and you all love each other. I have no business intruding," Saguru insisted.

"I don't think you're intruding," Ran offered.

"Kudo-kun would disagree, I think," Saguru scoffed.

"Kaito and I have two-thirds majority."

"Kuroba doesn't want me either," Saguru stubbornly pointed out for the benefit of the both of them.

"Kaito needs you, though," Ran hummed, trying to entice the detective.

"Not in the same capacity as he needs Kudo-kun," Saguru argued, beginning to get frustrated. Why was she encouraging feelings that could only lead to infidelity and heartbreak?

"Sometimes Shinichi drops the ball. Case and point: he's too busy thinking about the greater good that he's failing to consider Kaito's mental well-being. I'm telling you now: if Kaito goes to England with us, he's going to break— _shatter_. I'm not going to be able to fix him, and Shinichi will be too far away and too busy with his war on the Organization to be able to do much either. Whom does that leave?"

Saguru shifted uncomfortably before timidly answering, "Me?"

Ran nodded like an encouraging teacher. "And Kaito isn't going to need you in the same way that he needs Shinichi. I'm not expecting you to be a 'replacement goldfish' lover. I'm expecting you to put Kaito's needs first and show him the unconditional love only a loyal friend like you can supply."

"That's a little presumptuous and selfish of you, isn't it?" Saguru chuckled.

Ran grinned unrepentantly. "You don't mind. You're desperate to help him and feel like he needs you. You _want_ to be his support."

Saguru smiled wryly and admitted, "You're not wrong."

"I know," Ran purred deviously. "That's why I'm encouraging you. I don't expect you to replace Shinichi by any means. Kaito needs you as a supplement, especially since it sounds like we're going to be separated for a year or more. I'll be all right. I'm used to long distance relationships, and I'll have my baby to distract me, but Kaito is different. If you hadn't noticed, Kaito is clingy. Whom do you think he'll cling to in a foreign country where he feels trapped and abandoned by his lover?"

Saguru's eyes narrowed. "And you have no problem with this?"

Ran shook her head. "It's not a question of being unfaithful, if that's what you're getting at. Kaito's drowning in this relationship. You've seen him last night, this morning. He needs someone who he knows loves him more than anything, and Shinichi just isn't meeting that need. Shinichi's not perfect, despite what everyone thinks, and he's just not able to be everything that Kaito needs in a mate. I love Kaito, and I want him to be happy. It really does break my heart, seeing him in such a state. And what could Shinichi say about it? He's the one that started this multi-partner relationship in the first place. Kaito can make up his own mind about what he wants to do if and when the occasion arises, but know that I wouldn't be opposed to having you around to care for Kaito. I think you would benefit from a relationship with him too, if I'm not mistaken."

Saguru looked away. "Right now, a friendship with Kuroba is more than enough."

Ran nodded. "That's fine. This is completely between the two of you, and I don't think the idea of you as a romantic partner has even entered Kaito's head yet, so it might be that nothing changes between you two for several months. I just know Kaito, and I know he's going to need someone to hold on to if Shinichi really does send him away. I want you to know that when that time comes, if something happens and things change between you and Kaito…it's okay. Even if you guys just stay really good friends and you're there for him in a platonic way while he struggles to make it through…I want you to know that your feelings for him are nothing to be ashamed of. You're a good man, Saguru-kun, and your feelings are noble and pure. There's no need for you to feel guilty or in the wrong during any stage of this. Okay?"

Saguru considered her words for a full minute, and Ran let the seconds pass peacefully as she allowed him to take his time.

"You really think there's nothing wrong here?" he chuckled, unable to see things in the same light that she did.

"Saguru-kun, there are a lot of things wrong here," Ran sighed. "None of the three of you is particularly emotionally healthy. You're three imperfect human beings with three different sets of needs and three unique piles of baggage. Life isn't perfect, and we do what we can to get by and make the most of it. What I want you to understand is that there's nothing wrong with the way that you feel about Kaito. I don't want you putting a gag on yourself, so please give yourself permission to be in love, even if you never choose to act on those feelings."

Saguru's eyes widened slightly as he finally understood that she wasn't just telling him all this for Kaito's benefit but for Saguru's own.

"You're a very kind person, Ran-san." Saguru smiled as a sense of relief filled him. "Thank you."

Ran waved his thanks away. "You haven't seen me on a bad day. I'm not always kind. In fact, there are times I think I'm a little ugly on the inside."

"Certainly not," Saguru protested.

Ran shook her head. "I think we all have ugly sides that we try not to let others see, but honestly, in terms of heart, I hope my baby takes after his or her father more than me."

Saguru's brow furrowed. "After…Kudo-kun?"

Ran laughed and shook her head again. "After Kaito."

"Kuroba?" The creases in Saguru's forehead deepened. "So…you're thinking that Kuroba is the biological father?"

Ran nodded. "I think Shinichi did it on purpose. He only really gets in the mood to watch Kaito and me a couple times a month, but when he does, it's usually on the days I'd be able to conceive. I wouldn't put it past Shinichi to keep track and plan it out that way. I don't think Kaito has noticed, though."

Saguru cheeks flushed for what felt like the twelfth time in as many hours. "Why do you think Kudo-kun would do something like that? Wouldn't he want his own biological child with you? I'm afraid I don't understand."

Ran's serene smile widened. "It's for Kaito's sake. If Shinichi and I had a child together first, it would only make Kaito feel more like an outsider intruding on the relationship between Shinichi and me. If the baby is Kaito's, however, that's a solid bond uniting the three of us. I think that's what Shinichi is aiming for. You can see it yourself that Kaito doesn't feel secure of Shinichi's love as things are now. I believe Kaito and me having a baby together would do a lot to change that. Besides, out of all of us, family means the most to Kaito. He's always wanted a stable bond, a blood link with others. Shinichi and I don't have great family relationships, but it's nothing like Kaito with his mom abandoning him and his father using and manipulating him his whole life. Kaito wants this baby more than any of us, and I really hope, for his sake, he gets it. He deserves at least that much happiness."

Saguru nodded. "And so much more…. You know, Ran-san, I was wrong about Kudo-kun, and I'm ashamed to admit it now."

Ran frowned. "What about?"

"I had begun to think that Kuroba was right and that Kudo-kun only loved him when it was convenient or when he had some use for Kuroba. I was starting to believe that Kuroba really was just the exotic concubine, but now I'm finding out how wrong I was. Kudo-kun really does treasure Kuroba in his own way. All of this drama and manipulation and strong-arming about sending Kuroba away genuinely is because Kudo-kun is terrified of losing Kuroba. I don't think he's going about it in the right way, but he actually is acting out of love and desperation."

Ran chuckled and nodded. "You're right. Shinichi's doing a botched job of it, but his heart is in the right place."

Just then, the sound of the shower started up in the bedroom, causing Ran to smile. "It looks like they've made up."

"Any predictions about whether Kuroba was able to change Kudo-kun's mind?" Saguru wondered.

Ran shook her head slowly. "That wasn't a fight Kaito could win. He might be able to butter Shinichi up and physically bribe him at times when it comes to little things, but Kaito is the one that submits nine times out of ten when a decision this serious has to be debated in the bedroom."

Saguru's face fell. "A small part of me is excited that he's coming to stay with me for a year, but…Kuroba is going to be so discontent there. I can hardly celebrate."

"You're a good man, Saguru-kun," Ran assured, scooting over on the couch so she could reach out and pat him on the knee.

"I try very hard to be." Saguru smiled weakly.

"You're doing a good job," she cooed her approval.

A little over twenty minutes later, Shinichi and Kaito immerged from the master bedroom with hair wet and in different clothes than they had gone in wearing. Kaito's eyes were red from tears, and there were several angry bite marks beginning to turn to bruises on Shinichi's neck.

Kaito came over and perched himself on the arm of Saguru's chair despondently while Shinichi, looking grave, took his place next to Ran.

"My team and I will help you arrange it, but could you leave for England tonight, Hakuba?"

Saguru blinked, a little surprised at the suddenness of it all, but he nodded and replied, "Yes, of course. There's very little I would need to do to prepare for departure. I'll need to give Baaya notice so that she can make her own plans to follow after us, but other than that…"

"Perfect." Shinichi allowed himself a faint smile as things came together. "There's really just one thing I'd like to take care of before you guys leave."

"And what's that?" Ran prompted.

"Marriage. We need to have a wedding," the detective informed matter-of-factly.

Ran's mouth dropped open. "Shinichi…I…What…?"

"We might as well," Kaito muttered listlessly. "Haku-chan and I can serve as witnesses. Don't you need two or something like that?"

"Not _my_ wedding," Shinichi hastily corrected.

"Then who's getting married?" Ran's head was spinning. It had come so out of the blue.

"You two," Shinichi indicated Ran and Kaito.

Kaito's head whipped around so he could stare at his mate in astonishment. "Come again?"

"You and Ran are getting married," Shinichi repeated clearly.

"Shinichi, no," Kaito refused outright. "What the hell? What put that into your head? _You're_ the one who's supposed to marry Ran. You two are supposed to get married and have beautiful, brilliant babies, and…and… What the hell are you thinking?"

"Kaito," Shinichi replied firmly. "I'm thinking that I'm going to be separated from you two for several months at minimum, and I'm thinking that you're not going to handle this well, Kai. So before you go, I want to obliterate every single doubt in your mind. I want you to go and be okay and not ever need to question my love for you. I want you and Ran to get married so you can finally feel like a legitimate part of this family. I want to chain you to us and this relationship so that you'll never again try to bow out and leave because you think you're in the way. I want you to stop suffering, and doing things like this is the only way I can think to accomplish that."

"Oh, Shinichi," Kaito breathed, rising to his feet as tears began to spill anew down his cheeks. "Shinichi," he hiccupped, falling to his knees, wrapping his arms around Shinichi's torso and sobbing into his lover's lap. "Thank you," he laughed, the anxiety leaving him. "Thank you. I can't. I don't want to—at least not now, not at a time like this—but…thank you anyway for looking out for me in your own way."

"Of course," Shinichi whispered, running his fingers through Kaito's wild hair. "I love you, Kaito, and I'd do anything for you."

…

Mikau: Thanks for reading everyone! I hope you enjoyed it, and I look forward to hearing your thoughts. Next chapter is actually the last of the main arc, but after that I have three omake chapters that take place in England a few months later. I hope you'll look forward to the next chapter as well.


	12. Goodbye

Mikau: Hey there guys. Welcome to the final main chapter. There're still the three omake chapters where the group will be reunited in England, but this chapter will resolve the main action. I hope you enjoy it, and I plan on being back next week with the first of the omakes. Thanks so much to the reviewers from last chapter: SheeleOtaku3, Opal Spirit, and Lady Lily Anne!

Disclaimer: If I owned it, I fear it'd be a little too melodramatic. ^.^;

…...

Chapter Twelve: Goodbye

Late that evening, the group gathered at the air strip.

Hakuba and Kaito stood some distance away to give Shinichi and Ran a bit of privacy while the two said their goodbyes.

Kaito watched his mates without interest, arms crossed and glassy-eyed. His thoughts were obviously far, far away.

Saguru, in turn, watched Kaito, noting every twitch of his lips and quirk of his eyebrows.

"Are you all right, Kuroba?" he softly inquired as Ran and Shinichi embraced.

Kaito blinked, turning to give his friend a listless glance.

"It's fine, if you're not," Saguru added hastily. "…And if you wanted to talk about it…"

Kaito blinked again, and a little life returned to his eyes. He summoned up enough energy to weakly smile for Saguru. "Thanks, but I am so not all right on a whole score of levels right now. It's been everything I can do to keep it together all day. Once I say goodbye to Shinichi and we're on the plane, though, I'll tell you all about how useless, pathetic, and unloved I feel. Then, once I stop crying, I'll rant at you about what a selfish ass my boyfriend is. After I stop shouting my head off, I'll probably start sobbing again as I begin to feel guilty for badmouthing Shinichi when he's the most loving and thoughtful guy on the planet. That will probably lead into a downward spiral of depression wherein I beat myself up for being insecure and doubting Shinichi's love when he regularly goes out of his way to remind me how much I mean to him." Kaito took a deep breath and shook his head. "So yeah. It's going to be a fun plane ride."

Saguru nodded as Kaito visibly began to cement the shreds of his composure together. "…When you cry…do you want me to hold you or just listen?"

Kaito paused and looked back at Saguru in surprise.

"And am I to contradict you when you're too harsh with yourself? Do you want me to stop you mid-spiral or wait until you're done and then build you back up again?" Saguru inquired in all seriousness.

Kaito blushed, looking away and chuckling. "Geez. What are you, a host?"

"Better," Saguru corrected. "Because I genuinely care about you."

"Be careful," Kaito warned, only half joking. "I'm an emotional leech, and I just might suck you dry if you let me."

Saguru shrugged Kaito's comment off. "I can handle you," he assured and then added softly, "…for better or worse."

Kaito frowned at his friend's word choice, but before he could remark, Saguru cut him off, saying, "Ran-san's getting onto the plane, and it looks like your fiancé is coming to have a word with you. Shall I give you two some space?"

"Stay," Kaito replied, but it came out sounding a little more like a panicked command than he had intended.

"As you wish." Saguru nodded, stepping to the side so as to be out of the way but still within reach.

"All set?" Shinichi greeted, counterfeiting a cheery demeanor as he approached them, despite the lingering red tint of his eyes.

"Not really, but if I must," Kaito snorted, a portion of his tempestuous emotions leaking through.

Shinichi's face clouded slightly.

Seeing this, Kaito bowed penitently. "Sorry. It's been less than twenty-four hours since my world got turned on its head. I'm still kind of bitter."

"But you know why I'm doing this, don't you?" Shinichi gently prompted, voice level, but his face showed the anxiety he was trying to keep inside.

Kaito shrugged, putting his hands in his pockets as he mumbled, "Because you're afraid. You're scared of losing me. You're terrified of losing control and getting everyone else killed too. You're stressed because you have so much weighing down on your shoulders, and instead of sharing the burden with me, you're keeping it all to yourself and pushing me away so I won't be in the blast radius when you finally do explode—because you're going to break down sooner or later, Shinichi, what with the rate you're going, and it's going to happen all the sooner if you send Ran and me away."

"—Kuroba," Hakuba interjected, reaching out and taking Kaito by the forearm.

Kaito's eyes widened as he looked at Saguru in surprise.

"Kuroba, this is the last time you're going to see the man you love in what could be any number of months or even years. Don't you think you're going to regret it, parting ways like this?"

Kaito looked down at his feet and grumbled something undistinguishable.

"Kuroba, I know you're very upset right now, but lashing out at Kudo-kun isn't going to help matters," Saguru continued in a soothing voice, trying to smooth the ruffled feathers. "You're right. Kudo-kun is certainly afraid that he can't protect what's most important to him, and he is stressed what with all the people depending upon him, but the reason he's doing this—the very heart of the matter—is that he loves you. He's a broken human being, just like the rest of us, and sending you away to keep you safe is his imperfect way of saying how much he loves you."

Kaito laughed ruefully, looking up at Shinichi and smiling through the tears gathering in his eyes. "Your love hurts, Shin-chan. It hurts so much, I'm afraid it's going to kill me."

"Don't die," Shinichi whispered, stepping forward to take Kaito into his arms.

Saguru let go of Kaito's forearm and moved back as the couple came together, bodies slipping into place like jigsaw pieces once more. Saguru smiled sadly as Kaito melted into Shinichi as if it were the most natural thing.

"You're stronger than that," Shinichi insisted. "You're one of the strongest people I know, and I love that strength of yours. It's beautiful."

Kaito chuckled warmly. "You think you can charm your way out of the doghouse just by buttering me up?"

"I hope so," Shinichi laughed nervously, nuzzling Kaito's ear. "Because I was lying earlier when I said I didn't care if you hated me so long as you were safe."

Kaito looked up to searchingly meet Shinichi's gaze.

"I _do_ care," Shinichi stressed, eyes growing dewy once more. "So please don't hate me."

"Idiot," Kaito snorted, pressing a quick kiss to his beloved's cheek. "I could never hate you…even if you are stubborn and selfish and very, very bad at expressing your love for me."

Shinichi leaned in, his lips grazing Kaito's ear as he answered, "I don't think we have enough time for me to adequately express my love for you at the moment. Besides, poor Hakuba would drop dead, scandalized if I tried here in public."

"Naughty," Kaito purred, nipping at Shinichi's ear. "You're a bad boy, putting such wonderful ideas into my head when we're not going to get to enact them for maybe as long as a year." He pulled back and whined, "I'm going to _die_ , Shinichi. Promise you'll come visit me. And then actually do it this time."

"Maybe in a few months," Shinichi hedged.

Kaito refused to accept such a weak vow. " _Promise_ me."

Shinichi sighed, closing his eyes and considering his options a minute before he looked Kaito in the face and acquiesced to Kaito's demands. "Okay. I promise that in a few months, if I can get away from The Mission, I'll come and visit you and Ran."

"That's too many ifs," Kaito pouted.

"I promise I'll come see you," Shinichi rephrased. "Okay?"

"Better," Kaito hummed triumphantly. Then all mirth slowly drained from his face, leaving a serious expression. "You do know that I love you, Shinichi, even though I'm mad right now…right?"

Shinichi nodded. "And you know that I love you, even though I'm hurting you by sending you away?"

"Yes," Kaito whispered, his eyes tearing up as he realized that the time had come to say goodbye.

Shinichi pulled Kaito close one last time. "I miss you."

"I'm not gone yet," Kaito chuckled, but the tears began to fall.

"But I miss you anyway. As soon as I let go, that's it. I may never hold you again. I may never kiss you again, make love to you, laugh with you, watch you sleep, see you smile…"

"Dammit, Shinichi. Just come see me in a couple months like you promised," Kaito sniffled into Shinichi's neck. "And don't get killed before that. I promise I won't die either."

Shinichi pulled back just enough to meet Kaito's gaze. "God, what am I going to do without you? My lieutenant, my Mata Hari, my respite, my friend…"

"Be careful or you'll let me talk you into letting me stay," Kaito chuckled. "But you have Akai, Amuro, Vermouth, and Hattori. The FBI is behind you as well as the CIA and the Japanese SP. You'll be fine. And besides," Kaito purred. "…you can video chat me any time you like, if you get lonely."

Shinichi laughed at that. "My phone bill is going to be outrageous this year."

"It'd better be," Kaito teased. "Otherwise I'm going to cheat on you for neglecting me."

"All right," Shinichi chuckled. "…All right."

Suddenly words failed them as they stood there, taking each other in one last time before they were parted.

"I'm going to miss you too," Kaito whispered. "But this isn't goodbye, Shinichi. Okay?"

"Okay," the detective assented, giving Kaito a squeeze.

With a smile, the magician leaned forward and gave his beloved a long, chaste kiss.

They exchanged "I love you"s a final time and then reluctantly pulled apart.

Kaito turned and smiled sheepishly at Saguru (who was politely looking away, pretending he wasn't there and couldn't hear the lovers' emotional farewell). "Ready, Haku-chan? Sorry for the holdup."

"Actually," Shinichi broke in. "I wanted a word with him, if you want to go ahead, Kai."

Kaito raised an eyebrow at this, but he didn't protest. He shrugged and started to walk towards the plane, calling back over his shoulder, "Remember what you promised! If you don't come in a few months, I'm going to be mad! And _call_ me!"

Once he'd waved Kaito off, Shinichi turned to Saguru, a deadly serious expression on his face.

"You needed to speak with me?" Saguru gulped as all kinds of fears flew through his thoughts. Had Shinichi realized that Saguru had feelings for Kaito?

"I need your help."

Saguru had to have it repeated. "My help?"

"Yes," Shinichi confirmed, expression intense. "I'm entrusting my family to you, Hakuba. Please, please keep them safe."

Saguru bowed, incredibly humbled by the other detective's request. "I promise," he replied, even though he lacked confidence even in his ability to keep himself safe. "I'll take extra special care of Ran-san and the baby. You needn't worry about—"

"—That's not what I meant," Shinichi interrupted, shaking his head. "I mean, yeah. Please do look after Ran and Baby, but…Ran's mentally, as well as physically, tough. We've done the long distance thing before, and I'm ashamed to say that she's kind of used to it. She's strong, and she can get by on a phone call here or there. Of course, I intend to call practically daily, but…she should be fine. She may get a little lonely every once in a while, but Ran doesn't physically _need_ me to be there to be okay."

Shinichi pursed his lips, still staring intently into Saguru's eyes. "I meant Kaito. I'm not going to be able to come see him in a few months, and even twice daily phone calls aren't going to be enough to keep him going. He's going to get bored, he's going to get depressed, and he's going to get needy. Kaito self-destructs, and I'm not going to be able to be there for him, so I need your help, Hakuba. Whether you knew it or not, you supported him before. I need you to support him again until this nightmare is over and we're able to be together as a family again."

Saguru nodded. "I'll be whatever Kuroba needs me to be."

Shinichi's brow creased, and he frowned at the sincerity and determination in Saguru's words. "Be careful not to be too much."

Saguru smiled sadly. "Don't worry, Kudo-kun. I don't believe you have anything to fear in terms of me as a rival. No matter how nice my eyelashes are, Kuroba is never going to pick me over you, and I don't intend to pursue the matter."

"At this point anyway," Shinichi muttered, but then the solemn expression on his face dissipated. "Anyway. Regardless, thank you. Anything you can do to keep Kaito safe for me, I'd appreciate it. I know I can count on you."

"It's an honor." Saguru bowed slightly and made a move to go.

"Will you tell them I love them?" Shinichi blurted out, his voice revealing a hint of panic as it rose in pitch. "And to stay safe?"

"Of course, Kudo-kun." Saguru bowed again.

"Thank you," Shinichi mumbled, suddenly feeling extremely tired.

His eyes followed Saguru as the Brit boarded the plane, and Shinichi continued to watch as it took off, carrying his loved ones to safety.

…

Shinichi sighed as he sank into his desk chair, mind still on the tarmac as he fumbled about the various files littering his area for the one that he needed.

"You okay, Chief?" Akai hummed into his coffee can.

"Fine," Shinichi mumbled, anxious to bury himself in work. "Just itching to get this war over as soon as possible." So that he could bring his family home—save Kaito from himself, be there for the birth of his child, help Ran through her recovery and first months of motherhood.

"That's not like you." Akai set down the coffee and studied the team's mastermind.

Shinichi could almost feel the agent looking through him, reading his thoughts.

"Getting antsy and rushing into things isn't going to bring them home any sooner," Akai replied after some thought. "It'll only get you killed. Take the day off, clear your head, and then come back with one of your brilliant plans that's seven layers deep, Chief."

Shinichi breathed a heavy sigh, resting his face on the cold glass top of his desk. He cursed softly and then muttered, "All right. Thanks…. And if I ever lose it and do something stupid again, stop me."

Akai helpfully didn't mention the fact that Shinichi had put one of their best agents on a plane to England without sufficient cause.

"Will do, Chief," Akai affirmed, getting up and heading out so as to give Shinichi space.

Shinichi closed his eyes and began to unpack all of the unnecessary worries and fears zinging through his head.

If he couldn't be with his family, then he would just have to trust in the bonds between them. They were strong—unbreakable—and so all Shinichi had to do was trust and stay strong himself.


	13. Omake 1: Visit

Mikau: Hi everyone! Man, I'm exhausted. Our next round of trials is in May, so there are a lot of pretrial deadlines falling due about now. Therefore, I'm working overtime, not getting my lunches, and then still going to class after work a few days a week. That being said, I'm not getting any writing done. -.-; I thank you for your patience while I struggle to complete these omake chapters. But before we get to these omakes, I want to thank those that reviewed last chapter. I really appreciate your support: Opal Spirit, lany-chan, and Lady Lily Anne! I hope you enjoy this arc, taking place about five months after the end of last chapter.

Disclaimer: If I owned it, I wouldn't have the drive to keep the series going for over two decades. Mad kudos to Aoyama-sensei.

…

Omake One: Visit

"Ran, I _can't_ ," Shinichi stressed into the receiver as he moved the phone to his other ear, scrunching up to hold it in place with his shoulder as he flipped through one of the many files on his desk, pausing intermittently to take notes.

Ran remained silent, but Shinichi could feel her glaring at him all the way from England.

"I can't," he repeated more gently, hoping that would smooth things over. "I'm in the middle of a war against one of the greatest evils of all time, and I can't abandon my team to run off to the English countryside for a vacation, no matter how much I'd like to."

Ran pursed her lips, holding back the biting comment that he had had no problem abandoning his family, shipping Kaito and her off—against Kaito's will—in the name of keeping them safe from the Organization.

"At least I call you," Shinichi tried, putting the file away and grabbing another. "I'm working hard to make all this work, Ran, but I'm only human, and I can't possibly do any better."

Ran didn't respond.

Shinichi waited.

He could hear her taking calming breaths on the other end of the line, but she didn't say anything, almost as if she were the one expecting him to speak next…but what could he say? He wasn't at liberty to magically change his mind. Did she think that he didn't want to see them every bit as much as they wanted to see him?

"You're mad at me, aren't you?" he sighed.

Finally Ran replied in an unassuming, sincere tone. "Shinichi, why would I be mad at you? I'm eight months _heavily_ pregnant, separated from my mother, about to give birth any week now, hiding out in a foreign country so that I can't be taken hostage again and used against my fiancé who's trying to single-handedly fight a war, and—what else? Can you think of anything else, Shinichi? Any reason I could possibly have to be upset with you?"

This time, Shinichi was the one who failed to answer but only because he knew better than to interrupt. He had every faith that she'd find another item to add to her list of grievances all on her own.

"Oh, yes," she remembered right on schedule. "It's been a little over five months since I've seen you. Do you think a reasonable person would be angry with their romantic partner under those conditions?"

Shinichi set down his file, pushing away from the desk and going out in the hall, away from Command Central where he could give Ran his undivided attention.

"I'm sorry," he whispered, his voice cutting into the silence, drawing a sharp contrast to the hustle and bustle of his team's HQ just beyond the door. "I'm screwing everything up again, aren't I? All because of the Organization. _Again_. You'd think I would have learned my lesson from the last time. Geez."

"Shinichi, no," Ran offered soothingly, cutting her beloved some slack. "Your work is very, very important, and your team couldn't do what they're doing without you at the head. I understand, Shinichi. I don't blame you for working so hard, but…"

"But?" Shinichi held his breath.

Her voice softened until it was tender and sweet, making his heart ache for her. "You _can't_ miss the birth of our first child," she whispered, voice almost cracking with emotion. "The rest of the time, I'm fine. You _do_ do a good job of calling me, and it's nothing like last time, during the Conan years. You're not screwing everything up, Shinichi, it's just…that one day, I _need_ you here. Baaya is wonderful, and, yes, I'll have Kaito, but Kaito will be too busy freaking out, and Saguru will have his hands full looking after Kaito, so…"

Shinichi took a deep breath and let it out slowly, leaning back against the wall for support. "Okay. I'll take a week off, and I'll be there. I promise. I can go away for a week. Everyone here is beyond capable, and it's not like the Organization will completely overturn the tide of battle if I take a week off. Besides. You're not due for almost a month, so I have some time to get things ready on my end."

"Can you come next week?" she asked hopefully.

Shinichi blinked. "But…you're not due for…"

"There's no telling when it will be," Ran reasoned. "I was two weeks early, and I remember your mom telling me that you were almost a week late. You should come next week and stay until after the birth…maybe for a month or so."

Shinichi groaned. "Ran, I'm sorry, but I _told_ you. I _can't_. I can't be away that long. One week is the most I can—"

"—One month," Ran bargained like an auctioneer. "Please. Please come for at least a month, Shinichi. We haven't seen you in ages, and Kaito…" She intentionally trailed off, letting Shinichi's worst nightmares provide fodder for the end of that sentence.

"What about Kaito?" Shinichi demanded, concerned for the other leg of their unconventional threesome.

Ran shook her head, and Shinichi could almost see it as he insisted again, "What's wrong with Kaito? Does he need me?"

"No," Ran sighed.

Shinichi's eyebrows pinched together. "Is there or isn't there a problem? If he doesn't need me, what's the big deal?"

"The fact that he doesn't need you _is_ the big deal," Ran clarified.

Shinichi paused and waited for her to offer a further explanation. "I don't understand."

"It's more a question of do you still need Kaito," Ran baited.

Shinichi's frown deepened. "Of course I still need Kaito. Ran, what's all this about?"

"You're losing him," Ran stated with finality.

"Losing him?" Shinichi echoed, still confused.

"Yes. You sent him away feeling powerless, useless, unwanted, and depressed, effectively pushing him into the arms of a modern-day white knight," Ran elaborated.

"Hakuba," Shinichi seethed, grip tightening on the phone.

"Yes. Saguru," Ran confirmed. "Did you not see this coming? You know how Kaito gets, what a bad state he falls into when he's unhappy. And didn't you realize Saguru's feelings for Kaito when you told him to look after us before you shipped us off to England with him? Even I knew this was going to happen, Shinichi."

"That slimy wretch," Shinichi growled. "I'm going to kill him."

"You mean Saguru?" Ran pursed her lips, hoping that this outburst wasn't directed at Kaito.

"How dare he take advantage of Kaito like that?! I'm going to come over there right now and strangle him!" Shinichi hissed.

"Shinichi, it wasn't like that—quite the opposite, actually," Ran sighed. "Saguru has been nothing but a gentleman this whole time. I really can't blame him for what's happened, and you shouldn't either. He feels horribly guilty, and I can see him internally beating himself up over it. He thinks he's a homewrecker."

"He _is_ a homewrecker, and I'm going to come beat him up _externally_ for it!" Shinichi snapped, already making mental plans for his journey.

Akai would have to take the reins…if Amuro and Vermouth would cooperate. On second thought, maybe he should leave the two double agents in charge to cut down on the infighting. Akai would be a much better sport than the other two.

"He is _not_ ," Ran groaned. "He'd been practically keeping Kaito off with a stick for two months before he gave up, and you know how persistent Kaito is. I'd like to see you have the strength and resolve to fend off the advances of the person you love out of sense of duty and moral obligation. He's told me what a monster he thinks he is, betraying you after you had honored him by entrusting your family into his keeping. Saguru is a good, kind-hearted man, and I won't have you bullying him over a situation that's your fault in the first place. Do you hear me, Shinichi?"

Some of the rage ebbed away at Ran's words, leaving Shinichi standing in the quiet hallway, turning his anger back in on himself. "But I had to send Kaito away," he argued weakly, knowing it was futile. "There was no other way to keep him safe."

Ran bit her tongue, knowing it was pointless to contest the events of the past. "It doesn't matter," she informed him softly. "What's done is done, and now all we can do is make the best of the situation as it is. The truth of the matter is that Kaito has grown to depend on Saguru, and he's become attached in your absence. If you want to try to rebuild your relationship with him, you should come sooner rather than later before Kaito decides that he has it better with Saguru than with you."

"Give me three days." Shinichi cemented his decision in that moment. "Three days to get things ready, and then I'll be there."

Ran chuckled at this. "It was going to take you a whole week to prepare so you could come and be with me for our child's birth, but when it's a question of Kaito, you only need three days to fly to your beloved's side?" she teased.

Shinichi winced. "Go easy on me, Ran. This is a crisis. I think I've said this before, but if I lose one of you, I've lost everything."

"Kaito would be pleased to know you really did mean him too when you said that," Ran cooed.

"Did he not believe me?" Shinichi sighed, shaking his head. "Damn his insecurity and low self-esteem. When is he finally going to accept the fact that I actually do love him?"

"He was making progress until you pushed him away by exiling him to…" Ran trailed off, realizing that she was being the opposite of helpful. "I'm sorry, Shinichi."

"Don't be. It's my own fault," Shinichi grumbled, reaching up with one hand to massage his temples.

"…You're really coming?" Ran wondered aloud. It seemed like a dream. "You'd promised Kaito that you'd come before, but…"

"Yes, I'm coming," Shinichi affirmed, straightening up and going back into the Command Center. "I'll be there as soon as I can. Just…I need to make sure things will be okay here before I run off."

"I think the grownups can manage," Ran chuckled.

"Sometimes I wonder," Shinichi muttered.

"…I miss you," she hummed happily.

"I miss you too, Ran." Shinichi's lips spread into a weary but genuine smile. "I've been so alone these past few months, and it's been awful. I think this is my punishment for what I did to you during the Conan years."

"Hush," she admonished. "You're needlessly punishing yourself. Text me your ETA and all the details once you know, and I'll have Baaya bring me to come pick you up."

Shinichi's eyes narrowed into a concerned frown. "Kaito won't be with you?"

Ran shrugged. "Kaito will probably be at work. Besides, I think this will be a nice surprise for him."

Shinichi blinked. "Kaito works? What about keeping a low profile?"

Ran snickered and shook her head. "What? Did you expect him to stay at home at the Griffins' villa burning through all the books in their library for a year? Saguru took him to work with him one day about a month after we arrived as a kind of treat for Kaito. The poor thing was going insane just lying about the house, and Saguru thought a little change of scenery might help. One thing led to another, and now Kaito helps Saguru solve crimes. His approach is a little unique, but Kaito is quite the detective. It's really kind of cute, and they make a good team.

Shinichi's mouth fell open. "I've got to go, Ran. I'll be there tomorrow."

"Tomorrow?" It was Ran's turn to wear a quizzical expression.

"Tomorrow," Shinichi confirmed with determination.

"All right, Shinichi. Have a safe trip. I'm excited to see you…. I love you." She could barely contain a grin. This was working out much better than she could have ever hoped.

"I love you too," Shinichi hurriedly replied before ending the call and getting down to business.

…

Shinichi's plane touched down the following afternoon. Baaya had made herself comfortable on one of the couches just inside, not far from where they had parked the car, but Ran met Shinichi at the gate.

When he caught a glimpse of her, he ran, dropping his bag like the encumbrance it was as he reached her so that he could wrap his arms around her undeterred. He smothered her in kisses, gasping her name, before pulling back to actually look at her.

"Oh, Ran," he sighed, overcome with emotion at the sight of her and her very pregnant belly. "You're—"

"—Huge?" she snickered, tucking a loose strand of hair back behind her ear. "I know. I'm as big as a gazebo."

"You're _gorgeous_ ," he laughed, embracing her again with one arm while the other hand made itself at home on her stomach. "I _love_ your curves. You need to be pregnant all the time."

She scoffed openly at that. "Only if we can take turns with the swelling feet and the aching back. Pregnancy is rough. I'm thinking I'm only going to do this one or two more times, depending."

"On wha—Oh!" Shinichi jumped as he felt the baby kick. His eyes widened, and he stared back and forth between Ran's face and her stomach. "Baby kicked."

Ran giggled at the look on his face. "Yes. Isn't it wonderful? Though, sometimes it feels like a wrestling match is going on inside me, and that's not so fun, but…"

"I've missed a lot," Shinichi whispered ruefully, resting his head against hers. "And it's not like I'm ever going to be able to get that time back."

"Somebody has to save the world," she comforted, nuzzling his ear. "And you can be there next time when it's your own biological child that I'm carrying."

Shinichi pulled back and raised an eyebrow at her.

"I did notice," she tittered, bopping him on the nose. "The nights that you wanted to watch Kaito and me were always when I'd be most likely to conceive. You planned this to make Kaito feel more secure of his place in our family."

Shinichi's cheeks colored lightly as he laughed. "You caught me. Are you mad?"

She shook her head, matching his smile. "Quite the opposite. I'm glad, and I'm so proud of you, the thoughtful ways you put Kaito and my needs first. I just hope that Kaito's children don't inherit all of their father's energy."

Shinichi nodded. "We'd have our hands full with more than one little Kuroba running around," he chuckled nervously just thinking about it. "Let's see how Kuroba Junior Number One goes before we start cooking up any little siblings."

Ran hummed, neither agreeing nor dissenting. "And before that, let's go get your luggage so we can head home. The villa is an hour and a half south, so we've got a bit of a drive that we can use to talk and catch up."

"This is it, actually," Shinichi informed, holding up his duffle.

Ran raised an eyebrow. "How long are you planning on staying?"

Shinichi shrugged. "Until after the birth or until I'm certain that there's no danger of losing my family to Hakuba…whichever happens last."

Ran's brow furrowed. "And you only brought a carry-on suitcase?"

Shinichi grimaced, answering sheepishly, "I pack light, and I was a little pressed for time. I jumped on the first flight after I'd gotten things straightened out with the team and made one little pit stop, so…"

"What exactly did you bring?" Ran bent over and reached for the duffle, but Shinichi snatched it up before she could open it and spy the surprise he'd packed inside.

"I figured I could buy whatever I'd forgotten once I got here, so I just made sure I had the main toiletries and a week and a half of clothes. That's all," he insisted. "I mean, I assume Hakuba has books and that he'll let me use his washing machine, right?"

"Fair enough," Ran agreed, taking him by his free hand and tugging him towards where Baaya was waiting to drive them home.

…

Once Baaya and Shinichi had been properly introduced—"Shinichi, this is my second mother. Baaya, this is my other husband-to-be."—they were off into the countryside, comfortably chatting as they snuggled in the backseat on their way to the villa.

"How have you been?" Shinichi prompted, nuzzling Ran's neck. "I know I've spoken to you nearly every day the past few months we've been away from each other, but…I feel like I've missed so much. Have you been okay?"

Ran chuckled, resting her head against his. "Oh, Shinichi. I'm perfectly fine. _Honest_. I think I've already told you everything besides what's happening with Kaito, but…I actually like it here. Life in the countryside with Kaito and Saguru and Baaya is a lot of fun. I'm learning all kinds of things from Baaya—cooking and crochet (I've already made dozens of baby outfits). And at least once a week Saguru takes us out for date night in town."

"Date night?" Shinichi pulled back, giving his fiancée a skeptical look.

Ran nodded. "Mmhm. Saguru takes us to dinner and to the theatre or a movie or concert or something. Sometimes we'll go into London for lunch on the weekend and go shopping or to a museum."

"I bet you love that," Shinichi sighed.

"Yep," Ran replied brightly. "Saguru always makes time for me, and he's so considerate, such a gentleman."

"Am I going to have to worry about losing you to Hakuba too?" Shinichi groaned.

"Maaaybe," she teased.

"Seriously, Ran," Shinichi stressed, voice betraying a hint of the insecurity he was feeling.

"Of course not." Ran rolled her eyes, taking Shinichi's hand and squeezing it. All facetiousness left her voice as she continued. "Saguru only has eyes for Kaito, and I only have room enough in my heart for you."

Shinichi sighed, resting his head on her shoulder once again. "And here I am dividing my love between two people. No wonder Kaito is starting to drift away. How do you put up with it, Ran? Don't you feel cheated?"

Ran considered for a moment before responding, "At first before I really knew Kaito. Well, you saw how I acted, but now…I'm genuinely grateful to have Kaito as a partner in this relationship. He's like a sibling to me, and I love him dearly. I don't know how I would cope if I were alone here in England, just me and Baby. I don't feel cheated; I feel blessed to have him in my life."

"Good," Shinichi breathed, relief rushing through him.

"And I hope that one day you can come to feel the same way about Saguru."

Shinichi jerked up at that, staring in disbelief at his beloved. "What?" Surely he had misheard her.

"I said that I hope you can come to see Saguru's relationship with Kaito in the same light," Ran repeated. "Shinichi, I know that I can't be everything you need, and I've come to peace with that. I know that Kaito fills in the gaps, making up for the areas where I'm weak and supplementing my strengths, making them even stronger. As you know, Kaito is very needy, and you can't be expected to satisfy all those needs on your own. I think you should try to look at Saguru as a partner in your relationship with Kaito instead of as a usurper and a threat."

"Absolutely not," Shinichi refused, gritting his teeth to hold back the rage he was feeling.

"Why not?" Ran pressed.

"Because!" Shinichi exclaimed, looking away. "I won't share Kaito with anyone. I won't. Hakuba's got to go, one way or another."

Ran nodded. "All right. Take your time getting used to the idea. God knows it took me a while to come around to you and Kaito, so I can't really fault you for being reluctant. Just please try to keep an open mind. Look at them together—really look at them first—before you go in there fists swinging."

"Not happening, Ran," Shinichi grumbled, utterly rejecting the suggestion. "I'm getting my fiancé back—by force if necessary."

She hummed noncommittally before linking her arm with his and resting her head against his shoulder. "I'm sorry, Shinichi, but don't be mad at me. Please? It's been so long since we've seen one another, and you'll be going away before too long. Can't we take advantage of the time we have?"

Shinichi's scowl softened, and he turned back to her, placing a penitent kiss on her forehead. "I missed you."

"I know," she giggled, a smile tugging at her lips. "I missed you too."

…

Mikau: So, as many of you already know, I have a big problem with the way that the ShinRa relationship is portrayed in canon. That relationship needs a lot of long, honest conversations and some time to sort things out, otherwise it's just plain unhealthy. I just can't support it the way it is in canon, so it was truly a joy to be able to write ShinRa that I was happy with this chapter. They're really cute. ^.^ At least, I think so. I hope you thought so too. Thank you so much for reading. I look forward to hearing your thoughts! See you next time!


	14. Omake 2: Compromise

Mikau: Hi guys! I'm so glad to see you again. Sorry for the holdup. The good news is that thanks to me being so busy with work, they finally have justification to promote me from my junior position to a full paralegal (with the salary that goes with all the work I've been doing. Huzzah!)…provided that all the paperwork goes through. Fingers crossed. Anyway. I hope you enjoy this chapter. We have some more adorable (I hope) ShinRa and then finally the confrontation between Kaito, Hakuba, and Shinichi. I hope you have fun reading it. Oh, but before we get started, I want to say a big thanks to the reviewers from last time: reviewer (Thank you so much! I'm so pleased that you like it! I do plan to get back to Meta eventually. It's about fourth down on my list.) and Opal Spirit. You guys truly keep me going despite my utter lack of time and motivation.

Disclaimer: If I owned it, I'd have to enter the witness protection program to escape from my furious editor going by how inconsistent I am with updates nowadays. -.-;

…...

Omake Two: Compromise

"Ran-chan will show you to your room, but can I get you any lunch before you go up, Kudo-kun?" Baaya offered as she opened the door into the large country villa for the couple.

"I'm fine, actually," Shinichi assured, bowing politely to his hostess. "I ate on the plane."

"I'll leave you to it, then." Baaya returned the bow and, smiling, bid them adieu.

Shinichi immediately turned to Ran. "I need to see Kaito. Do you know where he is?"

Ran bit her lip. "Well, normally Saguru and Kaito work on Fridays, but I believe they took the day off and went into town to see…I'm not sure if it's a play or ballet or an orchestra concert, actually. Saguru's always taking Kaito somewhere." Seeing the growing anxiety in the creases of her fiancé's face, Ran cut to the chase. "But if they're back, they're most likely in the library."

"Show me? Please?" Shinichi insisted a little desperately.

"You're not going to cause a scene, are you?" Ran inquired warily, suspicions piqued by their discussion in the car. "I won't have you walking in there and punching Saguru out. He's a good man, and he's really saved Kaito while you two have been separated. Keep that in mind, Shinichi. There might not have been a Kaito for you to come visit if it hadn't been for Saguru."

"Please," Shinichi repeated. "I just really need to see Kaito."

With a sigh, Ran nodded. "This way." She motioned, heading down the long hall towards the library.

She stopped in front of the last door on the right and knocked twice before tentatively opening it. She peeked in, unintentionally blocking Shinichi's view, but before he could push his way past, she turned and placed a finger over her lips.

"They're asleep. Please don't wake them. Kaito's been having terrible insomnia lately, and he needs his rest," she informed in a whisper.

"I won't. Just let me see him," Shinichi returned quietly despite the urgency in his voice.

Ran bit her lip, considered, and then resignedly stepped aside.

Shinichi took a deep breath as he moved forward, slowly pushing open the door and catching his first glimpse of his beloved treasure in months.

His breath caught, and the back of his throat began to burn as he saw how pale and thin Kaito looked, as if the magician had been to the land of the dead and back.

And yet, Kaito seemed to be sleeping peacefully, nestled up against Hakuba Saguru, resting his head on Saguru's chest as the blonde loosely wrapped an arm around Kaito. The detective too had fallen asleep, book still held precariously in hand. His head had tipped to the side, resting oh so naturally against Kaito's.

Shinichi hated to admit that it was a sweet sight—two lovers all alone in their little fairytale world, finding happily ever after in the other's company. He stepped back out into the hall with a sigh, running a hand through his hair as leaned against the wall for support.

"Well. I guess you were right. Kaito _doesn't_ need me," he mumbled ruefully, knowing he only had himself to blame. "I never should have sent Kaito here. I knew he wouldn't take it well—the separation, the feeling of purposelessness, being taken out of the fight… You were right, Ran. I all but threw him into Hakuba's arms. This is completely my fault."

"You know how I feel about the blame game, Shinichi," Ran replied gently yet firmly. "It's not helpful, and it only makes you depressed when you dwell on things like that. What's done is done. What are you going to do about it going forward?"

Shinichi shook his head. "I don't know. Win Kaito back? But how can I expect him to come back to me when I'll be leaving again in a little over a month? He looks a lot worse than I'd expected. He obviously needs a mate who's going to be there to take care of him, and I can't make that promise right now. I _can't_ be here what with the war against the Organization at home. At this point, all I've got going for me is possibly the chance that I may be better in bed than Hakuba. I don't know. Has Kaito mentioned anything about that to you?"

Ran reached out and took hold of Shinichi's arm, hugging it to her chest as she made soothing noises. "They're not sleeping together."

Shinichi raised an eyebrow. "Huh?"

"They're not," Ran repeated. "Saguru's a 'wait for marriage' kind of guy. He doesn't want to be a fling while Kaito's husband is away, so snuggling and kissing and mushy talk is the furthest those two have gotten." She pursed her lips and debated a moment before going on. "Shinichi, why don't you consider what I said about looking at Saguru as a partner instead of an enemy? Why don't you talk to Saguru and Kaito about this and try to work this out?"

Shinichi bit the inside of his cheek and went back to the door to peek at the serene lovers once more. He turned back to Ran and sighed, "I don't want to, but…what is my alternative? Lose him?"

Ran nodded sadly, internally celebrating the fact that Shinichi was being forced to come around to the idea a lot faster than she had foreseen.

"Let me think about it," Shinichi mumbled, stepping into the library.

Ran caught him by the shoulder, a questioning look in her eyes.

He smiled reassuringly. "Don't worry. I won't wake them, and I'm not about to start a brawl either. I'm just going to sit and read and think, and then when they wake up, I'm going to calmly tell them how pissed I am…and how sorry I am for putting us all in this position in the first place. Hopefully then we'll be able to figure things out."

Ran gave her nod of approval, letting go of her hold. "I'll be in the kitchen getting some lunch, then. If you need anything, it's down the other wing and down the stairs to your right at the end of the hall."

"I should be fine. Thanks."

Ran shot him her warning look. "I'm coming running if I hear shouting."

"It'll be fine," Shinichi insisted. "I deal with high-stress, high-emotion situations calmly every day."

"Just try not to give them a heart attack when they first wake up." Ran shook her head, taking her leave.

…

Saguru woke with a start, just barely managing to catch the book he had been holding when he'd fallen asleep as it slipped from his grip. The jolt of adrenaline pulled him out of dreamland and sent him glancing around, trying to establish where he was and if there were enemies surrounding him. He didn't get very far before he saw Kaito, snuggled up next to him, and relaxed, smiling adoringly at his darling beloved.

He reached out and brushed Kaito's bangs back, giving the still sleeping magician a feather-light kiss on the forehead.

"He's cute when he sleeps, isn't he?" an unexpected voice sighed, full of wistful longing.

Saguru tensed, nearly jumping out of his skin a second time as he whipped around to see Kudo Shinichi curled up in one of the armchairs by the fireplace, seemingly three-quarters of the way through The Art of War.

Saguru groaned, muttering some choice words in English under his breath as he carefully stood, making certain not to disturb Kaito as he did so. He got to his feet, took a few steps towards Shinichi, and hissed, "Must you patronize me?"

The Detective of the East frowned, a little puzzled by such hostile behavior coming from the Brit right off the bat. He closed the book, setting it aside as he sat up straight, placing his elbows on the armrests and steepling his fingers in an authoritative manner.

"I beg your pardon?" Shinichi bit the inside of his cheek, holding back the wave of malice and rage that was threatening to wash Hakuba away like a small, coastal village.

"Oh, sod off, why don't you?" Saguru snapped, still going on in English. "All day, every day, I beat myself up, mentally scourging myself for my sins against you and your family, and I'm doing a fine enough job of it on my own. Yet, still you come to plague me in my dreams," he huffed indignantly. "I know what I'm doing is wrong, but do you really begrudge me the scraps of happiness I'm gleaning while you're off doing battle and Kaito needs love and support?"

Saguru looked down at his feet, ashamed, as tears came to his eyes and Shinichi looked on in a mix of shock and befuddlement.

"Though, I suppose it's only me doing this to myself," Saguru muttered. "After all, the real Kudo-kun has no way to control my dreams."

"Would now be a good time to tell you that you're not asleep?" Shinichi wondered, feeling a little awkward at their situation.

Saguru's gaze snapped back up to meet Shinichi's, and the blonde blinked, his jaw dropping open slightly.

"Do you really have dreams about me that often?" Shinichi hummed, shifting slightly in his seat and crossing his arms and legs.

"Nightmares," Saguru confessed in a defeated whisper. "Where you come and take Kaito back and berate me for daring to hope I could have something that was yours. But are you really here?" Saguru asked, slipping into Japanese.

Shinichi nodded, and it was just about that time that Kaito—who had been stirring as the other two talked—opened his eyes.

Kaito's eyelids slowly parted, and it took a minute for him to take in his surroundings. When Shinichi finally registered, Kaito jumped, pushing himself up to seated and gaping at his fiancé.

"Sh-Shinichi?" he tentatively called, his pale complexion turning even more ashen as he saw the crestfallen, guilty expression on his lover's face.

"Kaito," Shinichi replied, voice cracking a bit with the emotion of seeing his beloved for the first time in months…and getting cozy with another man at that.

Kaito grimaced, looking to Saguru. "Caught?" he wondered but knew better than to hope.

"Caught," Saguru affirmed, sinking back down onto the couch and covering his face with both hands.

Kaito winced, took a minute to compose himself, and then faced Shinichi with a wry smile. "Well. Caught in the act, I guess. Go ahead and yell; you have every right to. Slap a scarlet letter A on my chest and toss me out, if you like. I'm a dirty cheater, and I deserve it."

When Shinichi said nothing, only stared sadly at the almost emaciated form of the man he loved, Kaito spoke again: "What are you waiting for? Curse at me. Shake me. Hit me. Strangle me already."

"Kaito do you want me to divorce you?" Shinichi managed to ask in a level voice, pushing down all the turmoil he was experiencing.

Kaito frowned at Shinichi's even, almost soft, tone. "Honestly? No, but…I willfully cheated on you. Part of me wants you to punish me. I mean, what else are you going to do?"

Shinichi shrugged. "Take you back?"

Kaito's eyes widened. "…What?"

"Take you back," Shinichi repeated. "I'm letting you choose: him or me? Pick one."

Kaito shook his head. "I…I couldn't. That'd be like picking between my left and right arm. After everything, I couldn't just—"

"—Kaito, go back to your husband," Saguru demanded, lowering his hands to face his beloved.

Kaito turned his stare of disbelief on Saguru next. "What are you saying?"

"Go back to your husband, Dove," Saguru insisted plaintively, even his eyes begging.

Kaito shook his head once more, horrified by what his friend was asking him to do. "But…what about you?"

"Forget me," Saguru muttered, looking away. "You never should have gotten involved with me in the first place."

"But you're my friend…and I love you, Saguru. I can't just pretend these past five months never happened…everything you've done for me…everything you've been to me…" Kaito returned firmly.

"I will not be the reason this family is ripped asunder," Saguru snapped, more at himself than at Kaito, and it was obvious how much it pained him. "You have a child you're responsible for. That is _your_ child, Kaito—the flesh and blood family member you've been dreaming about—and I cannot and will not come between you. Go back to your family," Saguru commanded resolutely, but his voice cracked slightly when he added, "P-Please."

Kaito looked in horror back and forth between the two men he loved, the only thought in his mind that it would be hell to lose either one.

"So which arm would you pick?" Shinichi gently prodded. "If you had to choose between them."

Kaito slowly shook his head once more. "Neither. I'd kill myself because I couldn't live without either."

"Don't let's be overdramatic," Saguru responded gently. "You know what the right choice is."

"Shut up," Kaito growled. "You're an idiotic masochist, and I hate that about you. I won't pick. I _can't_." Kaito turned to Shinichi and entreated in a desperate whisper, "I _can't_."

"I'm not making you," Shinichi informed, voice soft with an affectionate warmth.

Kaito blinked in surprise before his eyebrows narrowed into a frown of suspicion. "Which means to say that you're making the decision for me?"

Shinichi shook his head, getting up and crossing the room in five confident strides. He squatted so as to be at eye level with Kaito and took his fiancé's hands in his own. "Kaito, I came here to strangle Hakuba with my bare hands and take you back by force if that's what was needed, but after seeing you—what I've done to you by exiling you out here with no purpose or support—and seeing you with Hakuba and having Ran talk some sense into me…" He grimaced as he admitted his error. "I've come to realize that I'm the one in the wrong."

Kaito frowned, listening very carefully to every word, trying to detect the catch. "Shinichi?"

Shinichi squeezed Kaito's hands as the remorseful smile persisted on Shinichi's face. "You're not a cheater, Kaito, because I was never faithful to you in the first place. I've always had Ran. Despite your love and your overwhelming devotion, I've never given you the same. You've always had to share me and accept whatever attention and affection you could get as I split it between the both of you, and that's not fair. I've never been fair to you, Kaito, so what allegiance do you owe to me?"

Kaito opened his mouth to answer, but no words would come out. His lips worked soundlessly around words that wouldn't quite form for almost half a minute before he finally managed, "But…I promised. I…"

Shinichi shook his head, straightening and pulling Kaito to his feet along with him. "I would be a hypocritical monster if I forced you to choose between Hakuba and me when you never even dreamed of making me pick either Ran or you. As much as I hate it, and as much as I don't want to give in, I'm starting to realize that Ran was right. I can't take care of you on my own. I'm not enough for you, and so I need help."

Shinichi begrudgingly looked at Saguru. "I hate you. I'd really like to see you dead and be done with it, and I'm pretty sure I'm going to make things hard on you, even if I'm only passive aggressive instead of outright hostile towards you. Despite all that, would you want to join our family?"

Saguru stared at Shinichi in awe, beginning to seriously doubt once more that he was awake. "Are you really asking me that?" He looked tentatively at Kaito (who appeared equally dazed) and then back at Shinichi. "Would you honestly…? You'd let me…? I could still…? I mean to say that…I have your permission to be in love with Kaito?"

Shinichi rolled his eyes, looking away. "That's not something I have any say about. What I am telling you is that I need help taking care of Kaito and making him happy until death do us part. Will you help me or not?"

"Yes," Saguru breathed on the verge of tears. "I do—I will! I'll do anything! I—"

"—There's just one thing I want from you," Shinichi cut Saguru off.

"Anything," Saguru repeated as Kaito held his breath, praying that this all was real.

"Kiss him," Shinichi commanded, holding out Kaito's hands for Saguru to take.

Saguru's eyes widened, and he looked at Shinichi in confusion.

"Shinichi?" Kaito questioned, unsure of his fiancé's motives.

"Kiss him," Shinichi demanded once more. "Kiss him, or I take him away from you. Kiss him, and he's yours—provided I find the kiss to be satisfactory."

"Shinichi," Kaito grumbled, suspecting that Shinichi was up to his old voyeuristic ways.

"It's not like that," Shinichi explained, picking up on the note in Kaito's voice. "I want him to prove to me that he loves you. You got that, Hakuba? Kiss him like you mean it."

"All right," Saguru agreed nervously, scared that whatever he did wouldn't be enough, terrified that Shinichi was just messing with him, leading him on for his own amusement. He reached out and took Kaito's hands.

Kaito gave him a reassuring grin tinged with just a hint of mischief, and suddenly the air felt thin enough to breathe again. Kaito gave Saguru's hands a little squeeze and leaned forward.

"Stop," Shinichi sighed, and the other two froze, turning to look at Shinichi, eyes full of confusion and dread. "Kaito, don't do the work for him, Love. Let _him_ kiss _you_."

"Picky," Kaito grumbled, pretending to be cross for a moment before returning his attention to Saguru. He winked and whispered, "Just pretend it's only the two of us."

"But remember that if you don't win my approval, this could be the last time you get to kiss him," Shinichi added facetiously, giving Hakuba a hard time. He may have accepted that he needed the blonde's help to take care of the man he loved, but Shinichi's feelings towards the other detective were still far from amiable, and he found a sort of sadistic joy in seeing Hakuba squirm.

Only, instead of paling in response to the heckling as Shinichi had expected, Saguru smiled ruefully and chuckled, "I live in constant fear that each time I kiss him will be the last."

And with that, Saguru leaned forward, pressing an affectionate kiss to Kaito's forehead. Kaito tilted his chin up and hummed as Saguru nuzzled gently, ending in a reverent touch of the lips, a slow and sacred kiss with the object of his devotion.

The tips of Shinichi's ears burned as he watched. Although the kiss was utterly chaste, Shinichi still got the feeling that it had been every bit as intimate and powerful as many of his own kisses with Kaito as they tumbled about, getting knotted up in the sheets.

A spark of jealousy flickered in the pit of Shinichi's stomach, and he scoffed, "Is that all the passion you've got, Hakuba?"

"You asked me to kiss him in order to prove to you that I love him," Saguru reminded softly. "Love doesn't always equate passion and heat." He blushed, eyes falling to the floor even as he squeezed Kaito's hands even tighter and continued, "The love I feel for Kaito is humble and unpresuming. It's supportive and self-denying. I don't have to fiercely express my feelings for him in a frenetic display of passion; he doesn't always need that. An unobtrusive gentleness gets my feelings across just as well."

Shinichi grumbled to himself and sighed. "I really hate you and your white knight shtick, you know that? You're going to be insufferable."

"Meaning that you'll let us be together," Kaito jumped on an extrapolation of his fiancé's words. "You'll let Ru join the family?"

Shinichi nodded, a glum pout clouding his expression. "Yes. So will you come over here and say hi to me already? These past five months have been hell for me too, and _I_ haven't had anyone to lean on for support."

"Oh, Shinichi," Kaito gasped, flinging himself into his fiancé's arms and covering him with kisses.

The two sucked and nipped and kissed whatever inch of flesh happened to be within range as they both talked at once: "God, I missed you!" "I'm so sorry. I never should have—" "—I'm the one that—" "—I wanted to see you so bad—" "I almost got on a plane so many times." "You're beautiful." "Never leave me again." "I love you more than anything."

Meanwhile, Saguru smiled and picked up his book, settling down to read as the lovers had their long-overdue reunion. He was relieved to find for the first time that he could watch Kaito and Shinichi together without the usual stabs of guilt and longing. There was no longer the self-deprecating tirade in his head that typically went along with such scenes of affection, and he could watch without berating and bullying himself. His only thought was that it was good to see Kaito smile like that. Kaito's smiles the past five months had been stained with guilt, but now…it was good to see Kaito happy, finally free from the weights that had been holding him down.

…...

Mikau: And now all that we have left is the feel-good group chapter. Yay! I don't know when I'll get it finished because I'm swamped with work and usually too drained after I get home (sometimes with classes in between), so…but hopefully soon. I've had this last scene planned for a few months now, and I really just want to be able to complete this work soon. Thank you so much to everyone who's been supporting me up until now. I've always appreciated your patience and encouragement. I hope you enjoyed the chapter, and I look forward to hearing your thoughts on it. Did I do a good job? ^.^; It's hard to tell. Most of the time I just think I suck, but obviously someone is still reading this, so… Anyway, I really do hope to see you all in the next few weeks. I'll try hard to get the final chapter done. Thanks again!


	15. Omake 3: Bonds

Mikau: And done. Welcome to the final chapter everyone! Thank you so much for sticking with me for the long haul. I really hope you enjoy the last installment. Thank you so much to everyone who has been reading and all of my wonderful reviewers. A special thanks to last chapter's reviewers: lany-chan, Opal Spirit, and Guest! And now on with the chapter. I hope you guys have fun reading it.

Disclaimer: If I owned it, Kaito would have a harem because he just goes so well with so many people. ^.^; The OTP people would kill me.

…

Omake Three: Bonds

Ran looked up anxiously as the door to the kitchen opened. She relaxed a bit when she saw Shinichi, Kaito, and Saguru come down the steps (a little awkwardly) with Kaito holding a hand of each detective.

The magician smiled puckishly, like he had done something particularly impish that he was especially proud of.

"Well?" she inquired tentatively, unsure if this were merely a temporary truce or a more permanent solution.

"Kudo-kun has exonerated us," Hakuba reported in a tone of relief and contentment, still overcome at the thought that he was allowed to love and be loved by Kaito.

"Only because I was the one in the wrong in the first place," Shinichi muttered, not quite done beating himself up yet.

"That's wonderful!" Ran cheered. "Oh, thank goodness!" Tears of joy began to stream down her face as she rose and hurried to throw her arms around Saguru. "Welcome to the family, Saguru!"

"Nee-san," Saguru chuckled reservedly in embarrassment. "You needn't—"

"—Oh, hush," she scolded lightly. "I can't tell you how happy I am that all this is working out. I've been worried sick for months over it."

"'Nee-san'?" Shinichi groaned incredulously. "He calls you 'Nee-san'?"

"Mmhm," Ran turned to Shinichi and declared brightly, still with her arms securely around the blonde. "I've adopted him as my little brother, so don't make him cry or else I'll have to beat you up."

"Sheesh," Shinichi sighed, shaking his head. "Why do people like you so much?" he inquired accusingly of Saguru.

"I can assure you that _I_ have no idea," the blonde insisted.

"You'll learn to like him too once you're done hating his guts," Kaito assured. "I should know. I hated his guts for a couple months before we managed to come to an understanding."

"Right," Shinichi snorted, sounding unconvinced. Still shaking his head in wonder, he let go of Kaito's hand to fish in his little duffle bag. "I realize things have gotten a little more complicated now with _him_ —" Meaning Saguru. "—joining the family, but…" Shinichi put the bag up on the counter to facilitate his search. "I've been thinking for a while that we call each other fiancé and husband and wife and boyfriend and girlfriend almost interchangeably." Finally spotting one of the sought after objects, Shinichi seized it enthusiastically, checked the bottom to ascertain to which of his two beloveds it was supposed to be presented, and then set it down gently before returning to his search for its twin.

Ran, Saguru, and Kaito's eyes all widened at the ring box now sitting on the counter.

"And I was thinking that I really wanted to make things official…especially when I thought that I could be in danger of losing one of you."

Shinichi found the other ring box and placed it beside the first. He turned to smile sheepishly at his family. "Would now be a bad time to get down on one knee and propose, or…? Should we go somewhere more romantic? I feel like I'm screwing this up." He rubbed at the back of his neck nervously. "Am I supposed to propose to each of you individually, or…but I kind of wanted this to be a vow between the three of us…" He frowned, tripping over his words. "But I guess with Hakuba with us, it's kind of inappropriate to…"

"Regardless of all the extenuating circumstances, Ran, for one, has _earned_ the right to have a ring on her finger," Kaito broke the tense atmosphere in his suave, KID-like tone. "Even if you choose to propose in private in a more romantic setting, you could at least show it to her now. I'm sure it wouldn't hurt anything."

Ran glared at Kaito. "Oh, you and your trying to be considerate at your own loss. I've had enough of it, Kaito. You want a ring every bit as much as I do, and you deserve it every bit as much too," she lectured. "Stop trying to be considerate of Shinichi and me. There _is_ no 'Shinichi and me'. It's all three of us or nothing…well, four now, but you know right well what I'm saying, Mister. Those rings are a promise between _all_ of us, so you come get yours too at the same time. I've had it up to here with your wife versus concubine mindset. Okay, Kaito?" Her tone softened until it was almost pleading. "We _love_ you."

"What she said," Shinichi seconded with an adoring smile directed as much at Kaito as it was at Ran.

"Okay," Kaito chuckled, a delirium of happiness washing over him.

He stepped forward with Ran.

Saguru stepped back, trying to remain unobtrusively out of the way.

Kaito caught him by the wrist. "No, you don't."

Saguru's eyes widened in alarmed confusion. "What? But I…"

"Didn't you hear the tirade I just got?" Kaito snickered. "Do you want me to give you one of your own, or can you just transpose what they said to me and apply it to yourself?"

Saguru blinked as things still refused to make sense. "But this doesn't concern me. You and Nee-san and Kudo-kun are—"

"—Your family," Shinichi sighed, throwing Hakuba a bone for Kaito's sake. "Get it through your head already or you're going to cause problems for Kaito."

"So it concerns you," Ran added more kindly, motioning for Saguru to join them in a circle by the island.

"You _did_ agree to be a part of this insanity, didn't you?" Kaito reminded, giving Saguru's arm a gentle tug in the direction of the others.

"Yes, but…" Saguru allowed himself to be pulled along. "…I didn't expect to be given full member status so soon."

"We don't do things by halves," Shinichi warned, grabbing the ring cases and holding them out to his respective partners. "You and Kaito can do your own private vows or promises or rings or whatever later at your own pace, but, for now, I want to make sure the three original participants in this relationship are on the same page. I'm serious about the both of you, and I want this family we've made to be permanent and official, so…even if it's just a non-legally-binding ceremony with friends, once everything's over with the Organization, will you two marry me?"

There was never any doubt as to what the answer would be.

…

Later that evening, the quartet retired to the den to catch up and snuggle as sleepy flames flickered lazily in the fireplace, enveloping the lovers in a cozy glow.

The peace of basking in each other's company was abruptly interrupted by Kaito as he gave a sharp squeak. "Wait. How long are you staying? I didn't even think to ask," he demanded anxiously, fearing that this happiness was short-lived and that he'd be deprived of Shinichi once more before long.

"He's staying until a little after Baby comes," Ran answered before Shinichi could speak for himself.

"Oh, good," Kaito sighed in relief, taking Ran's word as law and settling back down between his two detectives.

"Do feel free to stay as long as you like," Hakuba added for Kaito and Ran's sake. "You've been sorely missed, and this time with your family as you first become parents isn't something that you can get back, regardless of the outcome of the war."

Shinichi bit back the sour feelings he still harbored for the blonde and forced himself to thank Saguru. "Your gracious magnanimity is too kind," he replied, but his words sounded insincere and even a little sarcastic to his own ears.

Ran jumped in, guiding the conversation around the awkward moment that might have been. "Speaking of Baby, now that we're all here together at last, shouldn't we decide on a name?"

Kaito started. "Isn't that something you and Shinichi should work out together? I mean, Ru and I—"

"—Kaito, we had a conversation earlier today in the kitchen, didn't we?" Ran reminded patiently. "And I told you that there was no 'Shinichi and me'? Besides, Saguru, as god-father, has every right to add his two cents, so don't you, as _father_ , have that same right?"

Kaito shifted uncomfortably in his seat as he turned his gaze to the floor. "But it's not my baby," he muttered.

"Why not?" This time it was Saguru who spoke up, surprising the other three. "Even if not genetically related, you will still be every bit a parent to this child as either Nee-san or Kudo-kun. Besides, you and Nee-san have had relations; therefore, the possibility exists that you really are the biological father."

"It's a slim chance," Kaito half-heartedly refuted.

"Actually, it's a pretty good chance, if I did my natural family planning math right," Shinichi broke in.

Kaito suddenly looked up at his fiancé in bafflement even as the words began to make sense. "Why would you…?"

"Because he loves you," Ran chuckled, smiling affectionately.

Kaito closed his eyes and rested his head on Shinichi's shoulder as the truth of that statement overwhelmed him.

The others gave him a minute to process before Shinichi continued, "So you see now that your vote concerning the name carries equal weight with either Ran's or mine. Right?"

Kaito swallowed hard and nodded, not yet trusting his voice.

"Excellent." Saguru endeavored to move the conversation along. "So now that we're all gathered, are we allowed to know the sex of Baby? Nee-san has been keeping it secret from the rest of us until she could tell both you and Kaito at the same time," he added for Shinichi's benefit.

Ran shook her head almost coquettishly. "Names first. Gender reveal later."

"She's so mean," Kaito pretended to whine even as the magician perked up and resumed his usual demeanor. "She hasn't let me come with her to a single doctor's visit since we got here. She always takes Baaya instead."

"Pardon me," Ran interjected in her own defense. "A certain Interpol operative and his charming, British partner always get themselves involved in a case on the days I'm scheduled to go to the doctor. Is it _my_ fault that said operative prioritizes the capture of dangerous criminals over the opportunity to sit in on the ultrasound?"

Shinichi's eyebrows pinched together in almost vicious disapproval as he turned to Saguru. "Just how dangerous are these criminals that you have Kaito chasing after?"

"Not half so bad as the ones _you're_ combating, Dear," Kaito himself countered and went on to add. "And they're nowhere near as dangerous as those slugs I chased before I met you."

"So baby names!" Ran brought them back on task.

"Right." Shinichi reluctantly let the point of contention drop. "Ground rules: Not Conan or anything Lupin-related."

"Ground rules:" Ran repeated. "No homages to Holmes." She eyed Kaito. "Or Lupin, Napoleon, or Justinian." She next turned to Saguru and counted out on her fingers. "Or Star Trek or Lord of the Rings, The Hobbit, Doctor Who…What am I forgetting?"

"Alexandre Dumas's novels and innumerable video and trading card games," Saguru docilely supplied with a soft sigh of regret.

"Or anything remotely nerdy," Ran summarized.

"Well, I'd say you've effectively drained the fun out of this, Nee-san," Saguru hummed, sounding almost impressed. "Pray, if we're not allowed to draw on inspiration from literature, history, or popular culture, how are we supposed to arrive upon a suitable name?"

"Whatever name we do arrive upon will be suitable _because_ we avoided naming him or her after those kinds of things," Ran argued. "This isn't just for fun, guys. The name we pick is going to follow an actual human child around like a shadow until he or she is old enough to have it legally changed. It wouldn't be fair to pick something like Sherlock or Theodora or Spock."

"She has a point," Kaito reluctantly admitted. "Puns like 'Kuroba Kaito' make you wonder if your parents really cared about you if they'd make a joke out of your identity."

"'Hakuba Saguru' isn't much better," Saguru added ruefully. "Perhaps I see Nee-san's point."

Shinichi sighed. "Yeah. 'Edogawa Conan' was a little…"

The other three nodded in commiseration.

"Maybe I should be disqualified from the naming process due to my bad track record," Shinichi groaned, burying his face in his hands.

"Oh, you had to come up with that on the spot," Ran reminded, waving Shinichi's reservations away. "Now who wants to suggest a name first? Feel free to do both girl names and boy names at the same time, and then we'll pick one of each at the end from all of the options."

"Can't we just save ourselves the effort by only picking a name that matches the sex of the baby we're actually having?" Shinichi wondered aloud. "Why do we have to decide on a boy name if we're having a daughter? I mean, you _do_ know the sex already, don't you, Ran?"

"Yes, but what if the doctor made a mistake and we end up with a boy when we were expecting a girl? Are we going to stop to debate in the delivery room or just give our son an extremely girly name?" she reasoned. "Don't you think it's better to have a backup plan? I thought those were your and Kaito's specialty?"

"Another point to Nee-san, I think," Saguru hummed. "And may I be the first to suggest a name?"

Finding no opposition, Saguru continued: "Touya and Kasumi…supposing you want Japanese origin names."

"I like Touya." Ran approved with a smile. "And I wouldn't be opposed to a foreign name if it were easy enough to transpose into Japanese pronunciation. I just don't want the other kids at school to make fun of our children or ostracize them because their names are hard to pronounce."

"Trust me," Shinichi sighed. "Being the kid with the foreign name isn't fun."

"You made friends just fine," Ran snickered. "Conan-kun was a hit with the ladies from day one, and _that's_ the reason he had such a hard time with the other boys picking on him. It had nothing to do with your name."

"Can I add something?" Kaito spoke up a little cautiously. "Not exactly a ground rule, but…"

"Of course, Kai. What is it?" Shinichi warmly prompted.

Kaito bit his lip and tentatively inquired, "Would it be possible to avoid female names with the –ko ending? I'm sill not exactly over…" He looked down at his feet. "…Aoko still hurts," he confessed.

Saguru rested a supportive hand on one of Kaito's knees while Shinichi did the exact same on the other side.

"We understand," Ran assured. "Besides, I don't really like '-ko' names much anyway. There are just too many of them. But did you have any particular name in mind, Kaito?"

Kaito met the gaze of each member of his family and smiled in gratitude. "Rather than a specific name, I was thinking more in categories like seasonal names, weather names, color names…maybe flower names to match yours, Ran?"

Shinichi nodded. "I like the name Ren for a boy. Tsubaki, Yuri, Nadeshi—but I guess that one's out because of the 'ko' at the end."

"Still, flower names are a good idea." Hakuba picked up the thread where Shinichi had left off. "Asagao, Renge, Ayame, Sakura, Shion, Erika, Sumire… Do any of those appeal to anyone?"

"Not Sakura." Ran's brow furrowed as she pursed her lips. "It's a pretty name, but it's too common."

"We knew a Renge once," Shinichi interposed, turning to his fiancée. "Remember in that acting troupe?"

"When you were Conan." Ran nodded, smiling at the memories. "They ran into a lot of trouble, but I bet they're married and famous now."

"I like Yuri, Tsubaki, and Renge," Kaito hummed, racking his brain for options. "Just not Sumire or Ayame. I…those were always major contenders when I was young and used to daydream about…before KID and everything falling apart," he hedged as his voice cracked.

Shinichi and Saguru gave Kaito comforting squeezes and nudges as Ran leaned over Shinichi (with some difficulty due to her heavily pregnant belly) to take Kaito by the hands.

"My poor Kaito," she cooed, rubbing sympathetic circles on the backs of his hands with her thumbs. "It's okay to still be grieving. Aoko-san was very important to you for a long time, and we understand that even now she's still precious."

"Thanks," Kaito sighed, trying to keep his chin up. In order to provide a distraction, he elbowed Shinichi and demanded, "You come up with some suggestions, Shinichi. I mean, I know you've been fantasizing about your kids with Ran since you were little, so what names did you have picked out?"

Shinichi blushed, scratching at his cheek in embarrassment. "Unfortunately, they were all mostly names that Ran has ruled out with our ground rules, but…Arthur, James, Akechi, Yoshio…you see?"

"I actually like Yoshio as a name." Ran frowned suspiciously at her mate. "What is that from?"

"Kobayashi Yoshio is Akechi Kogoro's assistant and the leader of the Shounen Tanteidan in the Fiend with Twenty Faces series," Kaito supplied with a chuckle. "I'd almost forgotten since he's mostly just called 'Kobayashi' in the books."

"So he's like Conan-kun!" Ran giggled, laughing even harder as she noticed the pained expression on Shinichi's face.

"I don't love that name anymore," the Heisei Holmes sighed, lamenting the loss of his youth.

"Well, I do," Ran chuckled, and it came out sounding a bit like a cackle.

"How about we add it to the list with Touya, Ren, Tsubaki, Yuri, and Renge so that we can revisit it later?" Saguru suggested in order to preserve the peace. "Does anyone else have any suggestions? Nee-san? Surely you have an opinion on the matter."

"Chiaki, Nagisa, Yanagi, Haruka," Ran recited the well-practiced list.

Saguru nodded his approval as Kaito snickered to Shinichi, "She has good taste."

"Doesn't she?" Shinichi joined in with a pleased chuckle of his own. "I'd be perfectly happy with any of those. What do you think?"

"I like Chiaki and Haruka best," Kaito agreed. "And both of those can be used for either a boy or a girl, so…" He glanced enquiringly at Saguru and Ran.

The blonde smiled bashfully. "I don't know why you're seeking my approval; I'm merely the god-father. I very much appreciate the three of you involving me in this process, but, really, whatever name you all decide upon will be fine with me."

"Ran?" Kaito turned his attention back to her.

"Well, don't just go along with the first options I suggest," she insisted sheepishly, waving her hands in protest. "I mean, I'm glad you seem to like my ideas, but we should really talk about it more, shouldn't we? Why don't you put a few more out there and then we'll pick?"

"And today doesn't have to be the be-all-end-all," Shinichi added. "I mean, this _is_ the first time we're even discussing this, and I don't want us to feel like we're locked into a decision we made in half an hour's time. Like Ran said, our kid is going to be stuck with whatever we pick for a long time; we want to be sure before we commit, so…why don't you throw a few more names out there, Kaito?"

"Why me?" the magician wondered.

"Because Kudo-kun has a bad track record," Saguru ventured to tease, hoping that his efforts to lighten the atmosphere didn't end poorly.

Surprisingly, Shinichi set aside his grudge towards the other detective and joined in. "What your nerdy boyfriend said."

"You're both nerdy," Kaito muttered under his breath as he began the search for another suitable name that he hadn't previously selected for his and Aoko's daydreamed children. "…Ariake?" he decided after some thought.

Three pairs of eyes widened.

Kaito blushed. "It's not really a normal name, but…"

"If I remember correctly, that was the penname of a poet a little over half a century ago, but…" Shinichi's eyebrows pinched together. "It is pretty…'daybreak'."

"But doesn't it have kind of lonely implications or undertones or something?" Ran hummed as she tried to recall. "We talked about it in one of my Japanese literature classes in college."

"Kaito has been reading a great deal of traditional poetry the last month or so as he's pined for his absent fiancé," Saguru informed with a puckish chuckle.

"All right, all right." Kaito's cheeks reddened as he half-heartedly swatted at Saguru. "How about Katsuki instead?"

"From 'akatsuki', 'dawn'?" Ran wondered.

"I'm sensing a theme," Saguru quipped.

"I like that," Shinichi chimed in, trying the name on for size. "Kuroba Katsuki."

Kaito gave a start. "Whoa. Since when are we giving the kid my family name?"

"Well, they're certainly not going to be Mouris," Ran snorted indignantly. "As if I were a single mother. I didn't get pregnant on my own, and one of the two of you is going to own up to your part in the matter."

"I just meant that shouldn't the last name be 'Kudo'?" Kaito clarified, looking from Shinichi to Ran and back.

"So you'd have even more of a reason to feel your usual insecurity about 'being in the way' of a 'normal relationship' between Ran and me?" Shinichi rolled his eyes. "I don't think so. I did my best to arrange for this to be your biological child, so he or she is going to bear your surname, and we're going to be one big, happy family, all thr—four," Shinichi forced himself to correct, "of us and Baby. Then, the next time, we'll have my biological child, Kudo Nagisa, followed by Hakuba Yanagi the time after that."

"Whenever you and Kaito are to the point in your relationship where you're ready to have a child of your own, Saguru," Ran amended.

Saguru's face completely drained of color for a moment before racing through the gambit of shades of red. "B-B-But," he stuttered, waving his hands in protest as his brain struggled to form a proper sentence in Japanese. "I don't…I only want…I could never have…physically…"

Kaito mercifully interceded on Saguru's behalf. "I'm guessing she means she'll be our surrogate through in vitro because there's no way I'm sharing you, and I think Shinichi feels the same way about Ran…besides the whole sort of incestful feeling you're currently experiencing trying to imagine having a baby with a girl you've come to see as an older sister. So you can stop hyperventilating now, Ru."

"Thank goodness," Saguru sighed in immense relief, partially collapsing over the arm of the sofa for support. "I nearly had a heart attack there, but…" He tentatively looked up at Shinichi. "You'd be okay with that?"

Shinichi shrugged. "It would make Ran and Kaito happy for you and Kaito to have a child of your own. I'm still trying to get used to the idea of letting you into our family, but…I figure I can't hate you this much forever, and you have been absolutely wonderful to my family, caring for them so devotedly while I deal with the Organization back home, so…when the time comes, I don't think I'll begrudge you it."

"Thank you, Kudo-kun." Saguru bowed in sincere gratitude before turning to Ran and adding, "And to you as well, Nee-san."

Ran waved his thanks away good-naturedly. "It's what families do. But now that we've talked a good deal about names, are you ready for the gender reveal?"

"Ran, we've been ready to know for _months_ ," Kaito chuckled wryly.

"Are we having a boy or a girl?" Shinichi urged, holding his breath. He wasn't exactly sure why he did this as the sex of his child really didn't matter much. He was still planning on sharing his love of all things detective with the child, and he'd teach him or her to play soccer either way…but he supposed it was only a matter of having to worry about accidentally shooting the first boyfriend in case of a girl or dealing with the angry parents of heartbroken young women if they ended up with a son that took after Kaito.

"Both," Ran practically sang, so excited to finally share her joy with the people she loved best.

Saguru, Kaito, and Shinichi all stared at her.

"Both?" someone muttered in confusion as they all endeavored to make sense of the word.

"We're having twins!" Ran squealed with glee. "There's a good reason I'm as big as a stretch limo; I'm carrying two children: a boy and a girl."

"Oh my gosh! Ran!" Kaito shrieked, throwing himself across Shinichi's lap at his partner. "This is wonderful!"

"Hold on," Saguru interjected, his face pale. "Didn't we determine that there's a high probability that Kaito is the biological father? So…that would mean…"

"Two baby Kurobas at once," Shinichi gasped in horror. "What have I done?"

"I'm not _that_ bad," Kaito snorted. "And I was an angel as a baby, so there."

"We are never going to sleep again," Saguru sighed, matching Shinichi's expression exactly.

"Two of them," Shinichi repeated. "At least we've got Ran as the mother to sort of even things out."

"You two are mean," Kaito pretended to pout, moving away from the detectives to sit on the other side of the couch with Ran and chatter excitedly about the upcoming birth.

Shinichi smiled at his two loves, moving in to press a kiss to Ran's temple and then leaning over to tussle Kaito's hair before he turned to look at Hakuba.

"You're still certain that you want to be a part of this craziness?" he chuckled, letting go of his malevolence towards the blonde in honor of that evening's good news.

"Absolutely," Saguru returned with confidence and mirth. "There's nothing on earth I'd trade this family for."

Shinichi grinned contentedly. "On that point, at least, we're agreed."

The

End


End file.
